On 21 August 2023, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas published the text of a new draft law to regulate media in Kuwait, which was prepared by the Ministry of Information. The proposed bill has faced widespread opposition from civil society, including human rights activists, as well as a large number of parliamentarians who are members of the National Assembly, due to the presence of several articles that place restrictions on freedom of expression.
The new draft law clearly contradicts Article 36 of the Kuwaiti Constitution, which states: “Freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed, and every person has the right to express his opinion and publish it verbally, in writing, or otherwise.” This explicit provision, which aims to constitutionally protect freedom of expression, does not allow any governmental institution to take it upon itself to make draft laws whose primary results would be the violation of citizens’ civil and human rights.
Among the prohibited issues section in the new draft law is the prohibition of directing criticism at the Emir of the country, the Crown Prince, and the Deputy Emir, as well as preventing the publication of their news or activities without prior Emiri approval, despite the fact that they are public political figures. Citizens must have the right to criticise them regarding their daily lives and the country’s internal and external policies that will affect them with positive or negative results. Likewise, publishing and commenting on their news and meetings by citizens should not be conditional on obtaining Emiri approval, as this is impractical and places restrictions on their freedom to publish their opinions.
Also included in the section on prohibitions is the following: “insulting or disrespecting the country’s constitution” and “violating public morals.” These are vague phrases that the authorities may use against any peaceful demonstration calling for the rights of stateless Bedoon citizens, for example, or any ctivity aimed at drawing citizens’ attention to some chronic problems, such as rampant corruption in state institutions.
There are also two paragraphs prohibiting the disclosure of news about official secret communications and agreements, and the disclosure of secret decisions taking place in meetings, which violates the principle of journalistic freedom and transparency and the right of citizens to know the activities of the government and express their opinion about them.
One of the written prohibitions stipulates that one should not “interfere with the private life of an employee or one assigned to a public service or any of the members of the National Assembly.” The senior state officials as well as deputies among the members of the National Assembly have chosen of their own free will to be public figures, and thus any citizen has the right to publish news about their private life if it involves exploitation of public money or suspicion of corruption. Prohibiting citizens from publishing news about corruption gives public officials complete immunity to do whatever they want in their private lives, even if it harms the interests of citizens and public money.
In the section on penalties, a fine of not less than 3,000 and not more than 20,000 Kuwaiti dinars will be imposed for any violation mentioned in the prohibitions, and a prison sentence imposed for a period not exceeding three years and a fine of not less than 50,000 and not exceeding 100,000 dinars for whoever criticises the Emir, the Crown Prince, or his deputy, or publishes their statements or news without the permission of the Emir. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) fears that these severe penalties and large fines could be used against young Internet activists and bloggers, in an effort to silence voices opposed to government policies.
In the section on licensing requirements, the draft law required the establishment of a Kuwaiti company with a capital of not less than 250,000 dinars in order to obtain a newspaper license. This is an exorbitant amount that does not give young people new to the media the opportunity to establish their own independent newspapers.
GCHR calls on the government of Kuwait to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens to freedom of expression and refrain from proceeding with the new draft law to regulate media in Kuwait.
