For various reasons, Kuwaiti citizenship was revoked from tens of thousands of individuals during the period between 1987 and about two years ago. Nearly half of them were women married to Kuwaiti citizens.
This caused both minor and major repercussions that could have been anticipated and prevented, but those issues now belong to the past. As always, I supported the government’s decisions, believing that the chaos surrounding the granting of Kuwaiti citizenship since Kuwait’s liberation, especially over the past 15 years, should never have happened and cannot continue. Thus, the decisions to revoke citizenship were made in response to Amiri directives and to deal with the ongoing controversy surrounding troubling, often shocking cases of illegal naturalization.
Given several circumstances, some of which I have previously discussed, it was impossible to rely on traditional methods to uncover these cases or overlook them. Also, there was a risk that reviewers could be accused of bias, and the committee’s decisions might be seen as hasty or unfair. Therefore, it was necessary to take decisive and difficult measures by revoking the citizenship of all individuals in this category first, and then reviewing the files that might have been subject to injustice or arbitrariness. Some may disagree with what I have said, but this is not a justification for the decisions; rather, it is the reality.
In any case, this is now part of the past, and there is no use crying over spilled milk. The estimated number of wives whose citizenship was revoked is around 30,000. This means that at least ten percent of the country’s citizens were directly affected by this decision, including their spouses, children, grandchildren, and relatives.
I do not criticize the government’s decisions, as long as their goal was, and remains, the public interest and the protection of national identity. I also respect those who rightfully obtained Kuwaiti citizenship and have built wonderful families we can all be proud of. However, it is time to pay attention to the “Grievance Review Committee.” Almost no one knows how it operates, its importance, legality, or the binding nature of its decisions. No one knows when it will begin its work. It lacks a spokesperson to reassure those concerned. Justice demands that no one be punished for the mistakes of another.
Reshaping national identity and making it more credible and authentic requires the committee to act quickly and conduct its work with full transparency. Hundreds of thousands await the outcomes of its sessions, which I hope have already begun since the committee’s formation was announced a few months ago. Kuwait, a country of freedom and humanity, needs to strengthen its global reputation through the issuance of final and decisive decisions by this committee. Leaving the situation unresolved worries everyone including those whose citizenship was revoked, their families, and all who care about public affairs.
It is important to commend the exemplary official handling of this matter so far. In conclusion, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can deliver important and significant benefits by reducing waiting periods. AI is highly effective in accelerating data analysis, quickly and accurately reviewing applications, and detecting unfair or discriminatory patterns in the granting or revocation of citizenship. It can identify biases in decision-making, if any, by studying the history of past rulings, conducting statistical analyses, and verifying the authenticity of documents at remarkable speed, all while ensuring applications meet all requirements without human intervention.
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
