Kuwait’s citizenship crisis has entered a more dangerous phase.
Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has issued Decree Law No. 79 of 2026, stripping naturalized Kuwaitis of the right to vote, run for office, or serve in parliamentary bodies—ending the historic rule that granted naturalized citizens full political rights after 30 years.
The numbers are alarming:
50,000+ Kuwaitis have reportedly had their citizenship revoked since 2024, including birthright citizens, naturalized Kuwaitis, and women who acquired nationality through marriage.
Citizenship revocation has increasingly been used against academics, journalists, opposition figures and human-rights activists accused of criticizing the authorities or exercising freedom of expression.
The consequences extend beyond individuals. When a parent’s nationality is revoked, children and dependent family members can lose their legal status, creating a pathway toward de facto statelessness and exclusion from healthcare, employment, property ownership and other basic rights.
The International Law Question
Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to a nationality and prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality.
The broader principle is clear: citizenship cannot legitimately be transformed into a weapon for political punishment.
A government may regulate nationality under its domestic law. But when citizenship revocation becomes systematic, discriminatory, or a tool for silencing political dissent, it raises profound questions under international human-rights law.
A passport is not a privilege granted at the ruler’s discretion. It is the legal bond between an individual and the state.
Stripping that bond can mean stripping a person of their political voice, legal security and, in the most serious cases, their very status as a member of society.
Kuwait’s citizenship policies therefore deserve international scrutiny—not silence.