Suzan El Tahhan Bidoons: A Statelessness Plight in Kuwait ‫مجلة الدراسات القانونية واالقتصادية‬ also the center of interests, his family ties, his participation in family life, [and] attachment shown by him for a given country and inculcated in his children.". 86 In 1987, Kuwaiti criminal court held that the state could not convict a Bidoons resident of "illegal residence" under the country's Aliens' Residence Law. A 1988 criminal court decision held that the state could not deport a Bidoon man because "non-Kuwaiti residents of Kuwait who do not belong to another state and do not hold its citizenship but who are deprived of Kuwaiti citizenship for one reason or another… are treated in a special way that is distinct from the treatment of foreigners.".87 Despite all the previously mentioned holdings of national courts, international court of justice ruling, and all the international legal obligations on Kuwait, discrimination against Bidoons is still a legacy followed in Kuwait beside many neighboring gulf countries, whether in the public or the private sectors. Following the Bidoons dilemma, Human Rights Watch suggested in its report in 2011 a list of recommendations to the Kuwaiti government to reconsider. Many of the presented recommendations were practical as well as easily applicable if the government was really willing to solve the problem. Some of the recommendations were as follows: 88 • Grant nationality to long-term residents with strong claims to nationality, including residents who lack documented ties to other states and whose primary place of residence, familial, economic, and/or social connections are with Kuwait. 86 Human Rights Watch, Prisoners of the Past: Kuwaiti Bidoons and the Burden of Statelessness, 13 June 2011, P.46, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4df7191b2.html [accessed 23 December 2015]. 87 Ibid P.19 88 Human Rights Watch, Prisoners of the Past: Kuwaiti Bidoons and the Burden of Statelessness, 13 June 2011, P.8, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4df7191b2.html [accessed 23 December 2015]. 35