Publisher's Synopsis
As protestors took to streets throughout the Middle East in early 2011 demanding rights long denied by their governments, Kuwait's stateless Bidun population also held mass demonstrations to protest against years of disenfranchisement and discrimination. Government forces used tear gas and water cannons to break up the gatherings, and detained dozens of apparently peaceful protestors. This report addresses the Kuwaiti government's failure to resolve the longstanding problem of the Bidun, more than 106,000 stateless persons who claim Kuwaiti nationality but have remained in legal limbo since the country gained independence fifty years ago. International law defines a stateless person as one 'who is not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law,' and calls upon countries to consider an individual's personal, social, and economic ties to a country when evaluating citizenship claims. Stateless Bidun in Kuwait face
