Human rights in Kuwait to face scrutiny by UN treaty body

GENEVA – The human rights record of Kuwait will on Thursday, 20 October 2011, face the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in a meeting that will be webcast live on the Internet.

As one of the 167 state parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is one of the primary international human rights treaties, Kuwait is required to undergo regular examinations of its human rights record before the Human Rights Committee. Kuwait was last reviewed by the Committee in 2000.

In meetings which will take place on Thursday, 20 October, from 15h00 to 18h00 and Friday, 21 October from 10h00 to 13h00 Geneva time, the Committee, which is composed of 18 independent experts, will engage in a dialogue with the delegation of Kuwait on questions relating to the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

The Government of Kuwait has already submitted a State report on implementation of its human rights obligations to the Committee and a number of non-governmental organisations have also sent reports for the Committee’s consideration.

A live webcast of the session can be viewed on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/un-human-rights-committee.

The concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Kuwait will be made available on 3 November on: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/hrcs103.htm, after which interviews can be arranged with Committee members

To learn more about the Human Rights Committee, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/index.htm

To learn more about the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm

For additional information and media requests, please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+ 41 22 917 9310 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Xabier Celaya (+41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org) 

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