Shafaq News- Basra

The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) office in Basra on Saturday urged government action to assist Iraqi-origin women stranded in Kuwait without identification documents or residency after their Kuwaiti citizenship was revoked.

Speaking to Shafaq News, office director Mahdi Al-Tamimi said the appeal called on the Prime Minister’s Office to direct the Interior Ministry to send a specialized team to Kuwait to reissue Iraqi documents for the affected women due to their “difficult humanitarian conditions.”

Many of the women, most of them originally from Basra, are married to Kuwaiti citizens, with some holding court-issued custody rulings, Al-Tamimi explained. However, they cannot apply for residency in Kuwait because authorities require Iraqi documents they no longer have, after their civil records were previously removed from Iraq’s civil registry as part of procedures linked to obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship.

He added that Kuwaiti authorities had withdrawn their official documents, including passports and bank cards, calling for swift measures to restore their Iraqi identification papers.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, Kuwait’s citizenship revocation measures, launched in March 2025, have had “devastating and disproportionate” consequences for women and children, affecting more than 70,000 people, including foreign women who acquired Kuwaiti nationality through marriage.

Kuwait says the policy aims to correct legal violations in the naturalization process, including cases involving alleged fraud and dual citizenship, which is prohibited under Kuwaiti law. Other citizenship withdrawals have been carried out under the 1959 Nationality Law when authorities determine they serve the state’s higher interests.