The human rights situation in Kuwait has dropped notably in 2010 due to several incidents including violations to the freedom of speech and right to demonstrate as well as the suppression of peaceful political activities. In its annual report the Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) mentioned these offenses as well as recapped the positive and negative developments that took place in the state's human rights sector in the past year.

The report mentioned numerous unfortunate events in 2010. "The country [in 2010] featured numerous incidents of excessive force by police officers to disperse peaceful gatherings," the report read. It specifically mentioned the violence that occurred outside of MP Jamaan Al-Harbash's diwaniya on Dec 8, 2010. The report said that the law needs to be completely revisited so that it can be replaced by an updated law more compatible to the country's constitution.

The KHRS refers to the strict amendments made to the audiovisual and press law as "a step in the opposite direction" for the government. The society refers to article 36 of the Kuwaiti constitution which protects the freedom of opinion, expression and scientific research and demanded the cancelation of any regulations that put obstacles on the freedom of the press.

The 2010 report also included demands to improve the condition of detention centers, shelters and care homes. It reported several negativities while touring the country's jails, police stations and home care centers for children and the elderly.

The report mentioned the new labor law in the private sector, enforced in June of last year, and said that despite being better than the original law it has still failed to curb the problems expatriate workers face in Kuwait including human trafficking. The report also criticized the lack of improvement for bedoons in addition to the amendments that the government proposed on the audiovisual and press laws. They described the amendments as a step away from improving freedoms.

Regarding stateless residents, the report first acknowledges the government's efforts to establish a central body whose duty is to find a solution to the decades-long problem based on the naturalization of holders of documents for the 1965 census. This would allow remaining residents to obtain basic human rights in education, health, employment and various legal documents. At the same time KHRS raised questions about the government's ability to carry out decisions favoring bedoons and demanded that the Bedoon Authority provide more clarification on the subject.

The KHRS report considers 2010 an important year in labor rights in Kuwait. It acknowledged the conditions that the new regulation introduced to improve the situation of private sector laborers including minimum salaries, terms of leave and job transfers. On the other hand, the society expressed skepticism on whether the law will be applied appropriately and mentioned that a substantial amount of violations are still being committed by employers against their employees, such as delayed salaries and refusing to allow workers the right to look for other jobs. However, the society indicated that the number of violations recorded in 2010 have dropped compared to previous years.

Meanwhile, the KHRS said that legislation on behalf of domestic workers needs to be followed up on since domestic workers are not covered by the labor law. The report applauded efforts made in women's rights, particularly the enforcement of the women's housing law by the parliament's women's affairs committee. However, the report also noted that the law needs more clarification so that all parts of the Kuwaiti community can benefit from the law. The report noted that Kuwaiti women are still facing trouble getting job promotions or being appointed as judges or public prosecutors. - Kuwait Times