office of the united nations high commissioner for human ... · web viewkuwait has culminated its...

The National Association of Familial Security “ Rawasi”

The Report of the National Association of Familial Security "Rawasi"Parallel to the First Periodic Report of the State of Kuwait

Submitted to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

CRPD 2015

P.O.Box 460 Alyarmook 72657 Kuwait-Mobile 66660543- Fax 25337184Twitter & Instagram: RawasiQ8 Facebook: rawasiq8.org

Web Site www.rawasi-kw.org/ar

1

http://www.rawasi-kw.org/ar

http://www.rawasi-kw.org/ar

Report Content

1. Introduction.2. Task force and its mechanism.3. The rights of persons with disabilities in the State of Kuwait and their concomitant

legislations.4. Rawasi Association’s study of Law 8 for the year 2010 concerning persons with

disabilities in the State of Kuwait.5. Rawasi Association’s study of the status quo of persons with disabilities in the State of

Kuwait, based on:a. A qualitative case study of persons with disabilities.b. A quantitative study based on a questionnaire set by Rawasi Association in the State

of Kuwait.6. The recommendations put forth by Rawasi Association based on the findings of previous

studies.7. Acknowledgements

2

(1) Introduction

In accordance with Resolution No (95/A) for the year 2011 of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in the State of Kuwait, the National Association of Familial Security "Rawasi", was promulgated and published in the Official Gazette “Kuwait Today” in its issue No (1029) on 29th

May, 2011. “Rawasi” Association is a non-profit organization aimed at maintaining familial security in the society by defending the rights of families and their members socially and legislatively, and by seeking to introduce legislations and laws that realize this goal. The Association diligently strives to activate and implement the civil legislations and laws of the country that ensure the realization of familial security.

The State of Kuwait acceded to the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 22nd August 2013, and the Kuwaiti government submitted its first report on Persons with Disabilities in Kuwait on 24nd September, 2015.

In light of its deep belief in the need for establishing an effective partnership among civil society institutions and international and UN organizations, the National Association of Familial Security "Rawasi" has worked on the preparation of this report, which is parallel to the Periodic Report of the State of Kuwait submitted to the Commission for Human Rights on Persons with Disabilities, and which will be discussed in 2016, in an effort to contribute in providing useful information to follow up the implementation of the international convention and recommendations related to persons with disabilities, and to express its concern about the conditions that conflict with the terms of the convention ratified and accessioned by the State Party.

This report monitors the status quo of persons with disabilities in the State of Kuwait pursuant to Persons with Disabilities Act of the year 2010, and in accordance with the results of the questionnaires set and administered by “Rawasi” Association, and also based on the special personal interviews made with some individuals with disabilities or with their direct caretakers.

This report also includes all the information obtained by the task force with the means at hand and within the available space of time and in view of the degree of response offered by persons with disabilities and the competent authorities.

It is worth mentioning that the government did not discuss its report, which was delivered to the Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations in August 2015, with the National Association of Familial Security "Rawasi".

3

(2) The Task Force and its Mechanism

A task force was formed on 6th September, 2015 to write the report and collect information on persons with disabilities and their rights in the State of Kuwait.

This task force is comprised of a number of Rawasi Association’s members, and a work mechanism was approved as follows:

1. The report shall contain a study of the Kuwaiti law for the year 2010 on persons with disabilities, which is currently in force.

2. The report shall shed light on the extent of compatibility between the law of the State of Kuwait on persons with disabilities and the International Covenant, together with mentioning the recommendations in this regard.

3. The report shall shed light on the problems facing persons with disabilities from the diverse social categories so that it covers Kuwaiti citizens with disabilities, children of Kuwaiti women (from their non-Kuwaiti spouses), the category of the Stateless (known as Bedoon in Kuwait), and also residents.

4. To monitor any violations of the International Convention on Persons with Disabilities through carrying out personal interviews with the persons with disabilities or with their caretakers.

5. To create a questionnaire and collect information about the persons with disabilities or their caretakers; the task force has made field visits to the centers and associations of relevance to the persons with disabilities, and enlightened the targeted groups on the proper procedures to complete the questionnaire.

6. Conducting interviews with a number of affiliates working in the field of the rights of persons with disabilities, and also with specialists in this concern.

7. To peruse the studies and researches related to persons with disabilities in the State of Kuwait.

4

(3) Kuwait’s Sponsorship for Persons with Disabilities and the Concomitant Legislations

In accordance with Islamic Law and the Constitution of the State of Kuwait that require securing a decent life for its nationals, the government has been highly concerned with providing persons with disabilities with the necessary care, education, training and means of subsistence, and it has been a pioneer in establishing care centers for those who need it, which are properly equipped to satisfy the needs of their individual conditions, as well as centers for education, training and rehabilitation to include them in the society and secure a decent life commensurate with the conditions of their disability.

The State of Kuwait has established the Social Rehabilitation Home in 1964 designated for providing care to persons with intellectual disabilities, and in 1974 it established a shelter house for those suffering from any level of mental retardation (i.e. mild-moderate-severe) accompanied with physical and sensory disabilities.

Later developments included establishing a Day Care Center in 1994 designated to accommodate the mentally retarded and those suffering from double disabilities with mild and moderate mental retardation in the morning or evening periods in accordance with their needs.

The government has also established many education and training centers: in 1955, AL-Noor Institute for visual disability was established, and later in 1968, a complex comprising all institutes that serve this group with all their different types of disability was also established.

The government has taken some measures for the rehabilitation and training of persons with disabilities on some industries commensurate with their abilities and fit the local needs of the society with a view to enabling them to be self-dependent in earning a living, which would raise the degree of their self-confidence as active members in the community.

The State of Kuwait has licensed the establishment of Non-Profit Associations that offer services to the disabled and defend their rights, and some of these associations were promulgated and publicized, while some are still unpublicized.

Kuwait has culminated its sponsorship of the disabled by issuing laws and legislations that safeguard the rights of this category of society: in 1996, Law No. 49 on regulating the rights of the disabled was promulgated, and it comprised 24 articles including the formation of the Supreme Council for the Disabled Act; however, due to the inadequacy of some of its articles, the Act was amended thereof by Law 8/2010 which was promulgated and published in the Official Gazette “Kuwait Today” in issue No (964) dated February 28, 2010, which is the law currently in force.

5

(4) Rawasi Association’s Study of Law 8 for the Year 2010 on Persons with Disabilities in the State of Kuwait

In its issue No (964) dated 28th February 2010, the Official Gazette “Kuwait Today” had published Law 8 on the “Rights of the disabled”, which included 10 chapters and 72 articles.

Upon studying the law on the disabled, there appeared to be a kind of inadequacy when compared to the International Convention on the Rights of the Disabled as well as further inadequacy in implementation, as some articles have not been actually activated, which had negative impacts on this group of people; also, there was a flaw in some of its provisions, which require amendment; we list the details in the following:

1. The Law was void of any article that corresponds to Article (3) in the International Convention which stipulates the respect for the inherent dignity of all human beings and their individual autonomy including the freedom to self-determination and independence.

2. The Law violated the International Convention with regard to non-discrimination as stated in Articles (3), (4) and (7), namely to recognize and promote the realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms to be fully enjoyed by all persons with disabilities without any discrimination; the law has been restricted only to Kuwaiti persons with disabilities, and the children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaiti spouses, and it excluded the persons with disabilities of non-Kuwaitis, and some of the provisions of the Law have not been actually applied even to the children of Kuwaiti women.

3. Article (5) of the Law stipulates that persons with disabilities shall enjoy their civil and political rights only; hence, it excludes their economic, social and cultural rights as provided for in Article (4) of International Law.

4. The Law was void of any Articles that promotes or motivates conducting research and studies, developing the technology of information and communication, and improving products and services designed for persons with disabilities as provided for in Article (4) of the International Law.

5. The Law was void of any Articles that focus on the rights of disabled women as stated in Article (6) of International Law, and through the questionnaire set by the Association, we found out that the Law deals with disabled men and disabled women differently, which may, in some cases, inflict damage on women’s interests.

6. The Law was void of any Articles that would provide persons with disabilities with the effective means to resort to the judiciary on equal footing with others, through facilitating the legal procedures that are commensurate with them, thereby ensuring their participation directly and indirectly such as testifying in cases as witnesses, as stated in Article (13) of International Law.

6

7. The Law was void of any Articles that would oblige public authorities to designate a number of jobs for the recruitment of the disabled, and it was only limited to stipulating that if a disabled person was nominated for a certain job, their application should not be rejected.

8. The term “persons with disabilities” has not been activated properly since listing some of the non-disabled, such as those suffering from learning difficulties and dyslexia and some patients like the elderly under the umbrella of the disabled, is considered a violation of the provision stated in Article (1) of the Law, and hence the definition of the term has not been construed as desired.

9. Non-activating Item 3 of Article (1) concerning communication by Braille system, which means that Braille (i.e. the system of writing and printing for the blind) shall be an integral part of any public, civil or commercial business, and accordingly it should be publicized in all public institutions and the private sector, and Braille printing system should be supplementary to normal print.

10. Non-activating Item (2) of Article (1) concerning the technical committee, as it has not been formed in accordance with the concept of the Law, which stipulates that is should be formed from a team of experts in the field of disability (i.e. a doctor, a social worker, a psychologist, a representative of the disabled from an official body like non-profit organizations, a representative of the diverse types of the disabled, a parent or an activist), and it should not be formed from experts in one specialization only, which may weaken the work of committee.

11. Non-activating Article (3) concerning the treatment of the disabled of non-Kuwaiti children of Kuwaiti women equally to the treatment of Kuwaitis.

12. Item (1) of Article (4) has not been activated.

13. All the clauses stated in Article (5) have not been implemented since the government has not fulfilled its commitment towards providing offices to offer special services for the disabled in all its institutions and public authorities, which include providing a sign language interpreter, and an assistant to serve the blind in order to ensure that they enjoy their rights on equal footing with others.

14. Article (8) has not been activated.

15. Article (9) has not been activated as required since educational services are still non-commensurate with the huge number of the disabled.

16. Article (10) has not been activated properly since only a limited experiment has been made to the inclusion of the disabled in all the stages of public education, and the outcomes were disappointing for lack of appropriate preparation and arrangement.

17. Article (11) has not been activated since scholarships did not include all types of disabilities.

7

18. Article (13) has not been implemented with regard to the mentally disabled who are enrolled in private school that issue false certificates.

19. Article (18) has not been activated since the Mental Disability Club, which many agencies have demanded, has not been publicized yet.

20. Article (21) has not been activated since public transportation means have not yet been properly equipped to accommodate the disabled.

21. Article (22) with all its three items have not been activated.


23. Article (29) has not been activated with regard to the monthly allowance allocated to non-working women who are caretakers of disabled persons.

24. Article (35) has not been activated since housing has not been granted to Kuwaiti women who take care of a disabled son or husband.

25. Article (37) has not been activated with the need to clarify the public fees which the disabled are exempt from.


27. There is a requirement to activate Article (49) by excluding the financial beneficiaries from the Supreme Council, and also excluding the Dyslexia Association from the authority, for it does not represent the disabled.

28. Chapter Nine which is composed of (6) Articles has not been activated.

29. Article (68) has not been activated concerning the formation of the commission of “Friends of the Disabled”.

8

(5) Rawasi Association’s Study of the Status Quo of Persons with Disabilities in the State of Kuwait

During its inquiries about the disabled issue in Kuwait, Rawasi task force did not find documented public research papers or studies that would reveal the current size of this category or the degree of difficulties they face in the Kuwaiti society.

Since Kuwait is a signatory to the International Convention on Persons with Disabilities, it has shown the extent of its interest and desire in reforming the situation in reality.

To investigate and monitor part of this reality, Rawasi task force has conducted two studies, qualitative and quantitative, to examine the situation of the persons with disabilities in Kuwait.

A. The Qualitative Study: Case Studies of Persons with Disabilities

The task force interviewed a number of persons with disabilities or their caretakers. Below are summaries of individual cases to show their real life situations and their daily sufferings:

Case Study 1Case Summary:

-Personal Information:Male, age group:18-25, visual disability, single, no income, (Kuwaiti mother, Bedoon father, both divorced), three blind children, one has a double disability (visual and mental)-Social Status:Violent marital problems including threat of killing one of the children.-Educational Status:College Student:Difficulty in obtaining textbooks written in a system that can be read by the blind (Braille).Difficulty in studying scientific subjects which are prerequisite to the blind to fulfill university requirements.University officials find difficulty in understanding the conditions associated with the person’s disability and their need to undergo certain surgeries which may require the cessation of their study, and the officials may force them to attend until they are officially granted the sick leave.-Financial Situation:The subject in this case study is unemployed, and his guardian mother is retired and raising the three children by herself.The Disabled Law has not been applied to him to be equally treated like his Kuwaiti peers, so he has neither a financial support nor an employment opportunity.

-Health Status:There are no problems in obtaining health care.-Status of Housing and Public Services:The disabled and his siblings are not entitled to receive permanent housing benefits from the government since they will be deprived from their house upon the death of their mother

9

(Kuwaiti women have only the right to obtain public housing benefit but not property title, and according to the Housing Care Act, the property will be seized by the government upon the death of the guardian/mother in this case).Banks: The blind are not permitted to carry out any banking transactions independently without their guardians, and this procedure disrupts the blind’s transactions and causes them embarrassment and the feeling that they are not competent to exercise their natural life.


-Personal Information:Two Stateless (Bedoon) children, hearing disability, age group: under 18 of age, (both mother and father are Stateless (Bedoon), and they are still married)-Educational status:They have difficulty enrolling in State Schools for the Disabled and joining private schools is very expensive.Some citizens voluntarily built free schools to care for children who cannot afford enrolling in schools.One of the observations about the educational aspect is manifested in the inefficiency of the specialists in disability examinations, as these examinations do not produce proper diagnosis of the conditions of the disabled in addition to the lack of speech training programs that are suitable for disabled children.Most State and Private schools do not accept children with double disability.-Health Status:Non-Kuwaitis suffer from the difficulty of obtaining disability equipment due to their high cost compared to their low income; for example, hearing aid medical supplies like ITE (in-the-ear aid) shell and their own batteries are highly expensive.-Status of Housing and Public Services:There are no proper recreation centers for the deaf in Kuwait.


-Personal information:Male, age group: 18-25, a total visual disability, single, no income, (Both father and mother are Stateless (Bedoon) and they are still married).-Educational status:College StudentSecurity Fund Allowance at the university is 80 KWDs per month, which is a minimal amount that would not enable him to buy books written in Braille system.Lack of a personal assistant to help him reach the classrooms.Some teachers lack experience in dealing with the disabled, and they are indifferent to their

10

conditions in many cases.-Financial Status:There is no source of income, the government does not provide any subsidies, and there is no opportunity for employment.-Status of Housing and Public Services:Stateless (Bedoon) children with disability do not enjoy any of the rights or privileges enjoyed by the Kuwaiti disabled children.-Banks: Any banking transaction requires the mandatory attendance of the guardian of the disabled.Society: societal awareness towards the individuals with disabilities varies: some respect and accept the disabled like other healthy people and have empathy with them, some are just well-wishers who pray for their recovery, while others feel that the blind cannot hear or speak, so they treat them like retarded persons, which makes them feel stressed and embarrassed.


-Personal information:Male, single, age group: 26-40, physical disability (MS: Multiple Sclerosis), no income, (Father is Jordanian, Mother is Kuwaiti mother, they are divorced).-Educational status:He did not complete his studies.-Financial Status:He worked in Al-Watan TV channel for a while, and he was dismissed from work.He has been unemployed for 3 years now despite the fact that he is competent to work, and he doesn’t receive any subsidies from any authority.Employment:According to article 2 of the law of 2010, A Kuwaiti woman’s son has the right to employment and equality to his peer Kuwaitis by Emiri decree; however, this law has not been implemented so far.-Health Status:His condition now is more psychological than physical, the disease struck him after the age of 20 and he became solitary and an introvert who doesn’t like to go out or mingle with others, and he even became afraid of getting married due to his disability.He needs physiotherapy for his body and eyes; he takes a monthly shot (injection) provided by the government at 1000 KWDs.He suffers from maltreatment by some hospital staff, administrators, and accountants who have not received the directive that children of Kuwaiti women are exempt of fees and should be treated equally to their Kuwaiti peers with respect to health care.-Status of Housing and Public Services:The mother is the only breadwinner for him and his brothers, and if she passes away, their house will be seized by the government as in the case of children of Kuwaiti women who are married to non-Kuwaiti spouses.

11


-Personal information:Male, age group: over 40, moderate intellectual disability, Divorced, with a monthly income, (both father and mother are Kuwaitis, a widower).

-Educational status:The case subject has completed all study stages, and he can read and write in spite of his disability. The educational care he received from the government was excellent.He did not complete his vocational training due to his parents’ concerns.-Financial Status:He does not work because his parents are concerned that he might be taken advantage of. The benefits he receives from the government are rewarding and satisfy all his needs.-Health Status:The disability of the case subject does not require regular clinical visits and doctor examinations. However, there is need for the availability of specialized clinics to follow up his health condition in general like having periodic consistent tests of blood pressure, diabetes and asthma.-Status of Housing and Public Services:Housing care allows him to submit his housing application 5 years earlier than the others.The disabled lack sufficient recreation centers and other specialized clubs.


-Personal information:Female, age group: under 18, intellectual disability (Down Syndrome), single, income is less than 500 KWDs, (a Kuwaiti father and a Kuwaiti mother and both are still married).-Educational status:The educational status is excellent, and the government has provided public schools designated for the disabled, and it pays all the required fees; however, it has been noticed that these fees were relatively high in return to the fairly moderate educational services offered.The examinations specified for the determination of the level of intellectual ability with respect to learning require reconsideration.-Financial Status:Financial allowances paid by the government do not satisfy the requirements of the case subject.-Health Status:There was a delay is detecting the girl’s condition as a case with Down Syndrome, and that was due to parents’ lack of knowledge about the symptoms of the disease. Failure to observe the girls condition when visiting hospitals and delays in setting medical appointments.-Status of Housing and Public Services: noneSociety View: she is viewed normally by the community probably because of her young age.

12

Some observations on the Public Authority for the Disabled: mistreatment, difficult and tough rules of procedure.There are also laws that are not activated properly.The Public Authority for the Disabled doesn’t issue the parents of young disabled children the special Disabled Badges to allow them to park their vehicles in the parking lots designated for the disabled, which enforce the parents to carry their disabled children for long distances.There is a kind of injustice conducted by the relevant committees when determining the degree of disability, which is usually affected by the disposition and the personal judgment of the committee members who may dismiss the disability condition in some cases such as the case when a person has different lengths of the arms.There are no entertainment places or recreation centers specially designated for the disabled.


-Personal information:Male, age group: under 18, intellectual disability (Autism), single, no income, (Both father and mother are Stateless (Bedoon), and they are still married).-Educational status:The government rejects enrolling disabled Stateless (Bedoon) children in its public schools, and the cost of education in private schools is extremely high.-Health Status:The case subject visits departments of developmental medicine, and his father argues that the medical services offered are inadequate, and the medical staff are incompetent and indifferent to the condition of his son.Public hospitals do not take into consideration the special cases of the disabled, which forces the father to take his son to private hospitals which are highly costly.-Status of Housing and Public Services:There are no clubs or recreation centers for people with special needs.The government does not provide any financial subsidies for disabled Stateless (Bedoon) children, which adds extra burden on the shoulders of those families for being unable to meet the urgent needs of their disabled children; also, there are no laws that take into account the conditions and the rights of the disabled Stateless (Bedoon) persons.


-Personal information:Male, age group: 18-25, double disability (kinetic (motor movement) and intellectual), single, income of less than 500 KWDs, (Both father and mother are Kuwaitis, and they are still married).-Educational status:The case subject studied in a private school that included healthy students and students of special needs in separate classrooms, but he didn’t complete his studies due to maltreatment and

13

harassment he received from other students in addition to the inefficiency/inexperience of the teaching staff.After that, he was transferred to a public school for the disabled, which, his mother argues, provided excellent services, and the staff and assistants were all so competent in dealing with such cases like her son’s, and she noticed that her son made good progress and benefited from the school.-Financial Status:The government offers excellent financial support to the disabled, some other agencies such as Kuwait Airways give a discount on tickets, and some shops and health clubs also give support as a kind of societal contribution.-Health Status:The mother of this disabled person argues that the government has satisfied all the needs of her son, and that all the services were excellent: her son was entitled to travel abroad to undergo any surgeries needed or physiotherapy, but this right was obtained after filing a lawsuit against the Health Ministry for the medical error they made to her son, which increased the intensity of his disability.-Status of Housing and Public Services:The position of the disabled in the community: the Kuwaiti society looks negatively at the disabled, and this may be due to the lack of public awareness campaigns that draw attention to the rights of this group, and educate the community that these individuals are normal people that have special needs and that they are members of the community.Housing: housing services are available, and the government has allocated a sum of money for preparing and furnishing the lodge for the case subject (i.e.10000 KWDs)Also, the disabled have priority when applying for housing benefits.Facilities: There are no recreation places designated to persons with disabilities in all the districts of Kuwait.


-Personal information:Three persons with disabilities who are members of one family.One son, age group: 26-40, severe permanent intellectual disability, income of more than 500 KWDs, employed, married, (both father and mother are Kuwaiti citizens).The son’s spouse, age group: 18-25, moderate intellectual disability, unemployed, (Both father and mother are Lebanese).Grandson, age group: under 18, moderate permanent intellectual disability, global developmental delay since birth, (the father is Kuwaiti, the mother is non-Kuwaiti).-Educational status:Education is excellent since the son studied in specialized public institutes.-Financial Status:The son is employed; also, the grandmother sponsors all the members of the family from her pension (less than 1000 KWDs). The grandmother manages the expenses of all the members of the family, as the son cannot manage his own funds properly and he also exploits his son’s funds

14

(i.e. the grandson).-Health Status:The grandson needs medical care, for he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart, and there are long delays in setting medical appointments in public hospital; therefore, the grandmother is obliged to resort to private hospitals.Status of Housing and Public Services:Societal awareness is weak; people make fun of him; at work, he is financially taken advantage of; the mother has to monitor her son to protect him from financial and physical exploitation.


-Personal information:Male, age group: over 40 of age, kinetic (motor movement) disability, married, income between 500-1000 KWDs, (both father and mother are Kuwaiti, marital status: widower).-Athletic, Financial and Moral Status:The case subject is a national athletic champion who faced many obstacles during the course of his training and participation in World Championships.There are no rights for the disabled athletes; hence, he was unable to fulfill his sports ambition.When he participated in a championship sponsored by the government, no appropriate training camp was designated for him commensurate with his disability.Since then, he has been adopted by a foreign country to represent Kuwait in tournaments abroad.There is lack of attention to the disabled and limitations on the development of their talents.

Case Study 10 person asked to publicize his name in efforts to make a larger impact on change in sports for the disabled. His name is Tariq Al-Qallaf, who is ranked World Number One as champion in the sport of fencing for the special needs:The Athlete Tariq Al-Qallaf suffers from motor impairment due to a medical error that was inflicted on him when taking the vaccination against polio; despite his disability, he was able to overcome all difficulties and participated in many international tournaments in the sport of fencing. He is married and has three children, and he is now considered a role model for other persons with disabilities in Kuwait and in the world in perseverance, training and motivation to achieve the first ranks in world championships. Tariq documented the story of his life, his sports career, and the difficulties he faced all along in a book entitled "I Carried it Like it Carried me", which was published by Medad Inc. in the United Emirates (UAE) in 2015; in this book he wrote about the difficulties he faced that were caused by the Disabled Club management for their inconsideration to the special conditions of the disabled in the field of sports. It is noteworthy in this regard that the club has not fulfilled its duties as required in providing financial support to fund his travels to represent Kuwait in the receipt of the Trophy for the best athlete in the world in the sport of fencing. Also, the champion Tariq Al-Qallaf faced the lack of concern by the officials towards this group of individuals, and their reluctance to eliminate the obstacles that confront them, and also the decline in organization and arrangement of training locations before the major tournaments abroad; for example, on one occasion, the training site was allocated in a prison cell specified for inmates to perform the required training for the tournament without

15

taking into account the special needs of the disabled, and it could have been possible to secure special halls for them like the ones specified for their peers of the healthy athletes ahead the preparation to represent Kuwait in the Olympic event, especially when the government has allocated large funds for that purpose.

B. The Quantitative study:

The task force created a questionnaire (enclosed with this report) that targets persons with disabilities or their guardians to survey their opinions and get their feedback about the services offered by the government for this category of individuals.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the difficulties facing the persons with disabilities in their life as a result of the inadequacy of these services.

The questionnaire includes:

Part I: personal information about the disabled.

Part II: General issues.

Part III: questions about government services and school and community services.

Part IV: is specified for the disabled children of Kuwaiti women and the Stateless (Bedoon).

The task force of Rawasi Association has published printed copies of the questionnaire and distributed them to promulgated non-profit organizations that are concerned with persons with disabilities, and there was a good response from most bodies and authorities. Also, the task force of Rawasi Association released the questionnaire online through Qualtrics Services that included the same questionnaire to get the feedback of the individuals with disabilities who are unable to come to the Association’s headquarters to receive or hand in the form of the questionnaire.

Results:

The questionnaire was answered by 50 people, and it was found that there was a significant statistical correlation between the responses in the main themes set in the questionnaire whether they were completed by the disabled themselves or by their guardians, which eliminates the existence of any conflict of opinions. Accordingly, all the answered forms of the questionnaire were collected and filed together for scientific analysis, with the exclusion of all the forms that were answered with “I don’t know” in order to focus only on the affected groups.

16

Like any other study targeting the group of the disabled, it is not feasible to account for all cases; however, the results represent a small group of persons in Kuwait, and the information presented in this report would give those concerned about this issue a better understanding of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in the State of Kuwait, and it would also highlight the important issues that have impacts on their daily lives, health and personality.

The questionnaire has been divided into groups in order to be able to analyze each part separately:

The First Set of Questions (General):

Answers: Yes No Somewhat

1. Do you think that persons with disabilities have the freedom to take their own decisions by themselves?

2. Do you think that persons with disabilities have the freedom to take their own health decisions by themselves?

3. Do you think that persons with disabilities have the freedom to take their own educational and vocational decisions by themselves?

4. Do you think that persons with disabilities receive an inferior treatment from the members of their own family?

5. Do you think that persons with disabilities have less privacy (or undergo a breach of their privacy more) than the healthy persons?

6. Do you think that persons with disabilities are vulnerable to financial exploitation by their guardians?

17

Answers to the previous questions:

1. In the question about the privacy of persons with disabilities, the results were close; this may be due to the fact that the concept of privacy here is undefined; hence, the convergence of the results.

2. The disabled believe that they are not financially exploited by their guardians; this may reflect the opinions of those who are old enough to carry out their own financial procedures, and it does not represent the opinions of the young among them.

3. Most persons with disabilities agree that they do not receive an inferior treatment from their parents, and this is a positive indicator.

4. The high rate of “NO” responses to question 3 about the educational and vocational decisions indicates that the guardians interfere in the process of taking such decisions.

5. When it comes to health decisions, the results were close, which implies that there is a group of them that faces obstacles affecting their decision making, and they need the help of others to make such decisions.

6. Most responses show that the disabled have the freedom to make their own personal decisions by themselves, and this is a good indicator.

The Second Set of Questions:

1. Do you think that persons with disabilities have the right to file a complaint and receive support when there is a violation of their rights?

2. Do you think that there is a certain body that protects persons with disabilities and looks into their affairs?

3. Can persons with disabilities apply to obtain financial assistance from more than one public authority?

4. Does the government sponsor the medical expenses on a regular basis?5. Does the government sponsor the schooling expenses on a regular basis?6. Does the government sponsor the personal expenses on a regular basis?

18


1. The table above shows that the majority of persons with disabilities believe that there are people who support them when there is any violation of their rights.

2. Responses to Question 2 about the existence of a certain body that protects and looks into the affairs of the disabled were all negative.

3. As for the financial support in Question 3, the majority believe that obtaining financial support from more than one public authority is not possible.

4. As for sponsoring medical expenses in Question 4, most responses were close and they were negative; this may be due to the type of disability and its needs; hearing disability, for example, and persons with amputated limbs require medical equipment that is highly costly.

5. As for sponsoring schooling expenses in Question 5, a big percentage of the respondents approved that the government pays these expenses on a regular basis; however, some responses were negative, which represent the opinions of the Stateless (Bedoon) and the non-Kuwaitis, whose education is not sponsored by the government.

6. The majority believe that the government sponsors the personal expenses, and negative responses to this question mostly represent the opinions of non-Kuwaitis.

19

The Third Set of Questions:

1. In your opinion, are women with disabilities treated in the same way as men with disabilities?

2. Do you think that persons with disabilities enjoy the right of housing care?3. Do you think that rights of the disabled are fully granted?4. Do you think that the society requires more awareness about disability?5. Do you think that the government provides suitable services for the disabled?6. Do you think that the government provides suitable financial support for the disabled?7. Do you think that the disabled enjoy all the rights provided for them by the law? 8. Do you think that Persons with Disabilities Act has given them justice?9. Do you think that Persons with Disabilities Act needs to be amended to suit the affected?


1. A large percentage of the responses show that disabled women and disabled men are treated differently in general, which requires reconsideration, for women with disabilities need to be provided with appropriate conditions in the community to ensure their protection and secure the means of their living, housing, health and education.

2. There was divergence in the responses with respect to the right of housing care, and this is due to the fact that Kuwaiti persons with disabilities have the right to housing and have priority to apply for housing benefits five years earlier than their peers of healthy citizens. Whereas non-Kuwaitis and the Stateless (Bedoon) have no right to any housing care. Also, the children of Kuwaiti women who are supposed to enjoy the right of obtaining a

20

house by the law, are still up till now deprived of this right despite the promulgation of the Law of 2010.

3. There is quasi-consensus among the disabled about the fact that not all their rights are fulfilled in general, and that the obstacles they face in the various aspects of their lives need to be recognized and amended accordingly to facilitate their affairs.

4. All participants in the questionnaire acknowledged the need to increase the awareness of the community about the rights of the persons with disabilities, which indicates that there is a flaw in the community’s view and treatment of the disabled.

5. There was close convergence between the responses related to the services offered by the government to the disabled, and this may be due to the fact that the question didn’t specify the concerned public authorities; therefore, the inadequacy may be a result of the lack of public medical centers for the disabled or entertainment centers and the like as mentioned by some of the people in the interviews of the quantitative study.

6. There was close convergence between the responses in regard to the availability of a suitable financial support for the disabled; this may be due to the inadequacy of the financial support offered by the government for some types of disability that require certain equipment in addition to the responses of non-Kuwaiti persons with disabilities who do not receive any financial support from the government.

7. The majority of the participants feel that they have not been given the full rights guaranteed to them by the law.

8. The divergence between the responses with respect to the question on whether the law has given justice to the disabled, may be a result of not implementing some clauses of the law or the failure of the law to include non-Kuwaitis.

9. The feedback from the majority of responses showed agreement about the importance of amending some provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act to suit the affected whether they were Kuwaitis or non-Kuwaitis.

21

The Fourth Set of Questions (Health):

1. What is your assessment of the standard of performance of public rehabilitation centers for the disabled in general?

2. What is your assessment of the standard of the providers of health care for the disabled (i.e. doctors, nurses…etc.)?

3. What is your assessment of the standard of examinations that determine the type and degree of the disability?


1. The assessment of rehabilitation centers varies between poor and average rating, which requires review and action by the government.

2. The assessment of the standard of health care providers also varied between poor and average rating, which is a matter that should be addressed by the government.

3. Most responses show that the standard of the examinations that determine the type and degree of the disability is poor, which usually results in depriving the persons with disabilities of some of their rights.

22

The Fifth Set of Questions:

1. Do persons with disabilities receive the required supervision and health care?2. Is the number of the current public rehabilitation centers for the disabled sufficient to

accommodate them?3. Do you think that persons with disabilities can easily find a specialist that can take care of

them either partially or totally?4. In your opinion, would you propose issuing a law in the National Assembly that would

commit them to allocate a complementary seat for persons with disabilities?5. In your opinion, are customs strategies applied to the persons with disabilities in regard to

artificial limbs?6. Do you find difficulty in obtaining the suitable medical supplies for the disabled.


1. As for supervision and health care, most responses varied between (NO and Fairly),

which also indicates the poorness of the health services provided to persons with disabilities.

2. A large proportion of responses show that the number of public rehabilitation centers is insufficient to accommodate persons with disabilities.

3. Most participants believe that there is difficulty in finding specialists to take care of the disabled, and the study found out that the reasons underlying this might be financial or it could be due to the lack of specialized and qualified agencies that would provide such care.

4. Most participants believe that it is important to commit the National Assembly to allocate a complementary seat for the disabled.

23

5. As for the application of customs strategies on the complementary equipment for the persons with disabilities, the responses were minimal and hence cannot be analyzed, and this is due to the lack of information of the participants about this issue.

6. There was a divergence between the responses in relation to the medical supplies, for the government provides free health care and medicine, but with respect to the equipment, they might either take a long time to obtain due to the complexity of procedures, or they may not be available for some to obtain because they are specified for Kuwaitis only, which obliges them to buy this equipment at their own expense.

The Sixth Set of Questions (Government and society):

1. What is your opinion about the public services provided for the disabled by the Disabled Authority?

2. What is your assessment of the competence of male and female teachers in the schools for the disabled?


1. The Disabled Authority is a body concerned with all the affairs of the disabled such as medical, educational and living affairs, and it has been evaluated between poor and average, which points to the need to develop the services provided to the disabled.

2. Both male and female teachers in the schools for the disabled were mostly evaluated as poor or average, and this undoubtedly affects the educational attainment of the outcomes of these schools.

The Seventh Set of Questions:

24

1. Do you think that persons with disabilities are treated inferiorly by officials when they try to carry out procedures by themselves?

2. Do you think that persons with disabilities face difficulties in moving inside public buildings, schools, hospitals or other locations?

3. Do you think that persons with disabilities face difficulties in transportation in Kuwait by using the suitable means of transportation such as the cars equipped with movable chairs?

4. Does the government offer suitable job opportunities to persons with disabilities?5. Does the government recruit persons with disabilities with their peers of healthy

employees without any discrimination?6. Do you think that persons with disabilities find difficulties with respect to their rights for

education?


1. Most participants in the questionnaire believe that persons with disabilities receive inferior treatment by officials when carrying out any kind of transaction by themselves, which indicates the poorness of societal awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and the need to treat them like their healthy peers.

2. There is quasi-consensus on the difficulty of movement inside the public buildings, hospitals, markets, and other places, which clearly impedes the movement of people with disabilities and makes it difficult for them to exercise their daily lives normally.

3. Most responses showed that there is difficulty in movement in Kuwait, for the lack of means of transport that are designated to transferring persons with disabilities, which results in limiting their freedom of movement to exercise their daily lives and be active members in the community.

25

4. There was a divergence between the responses with respect to the suitable job opportunities for the disabled, and the common belief is that there is difficulty in employment.

5. As for the disabled right for education, the responses varied between (YES and NO), and the reason for this is that the government is committed to educating persons with disabilities of Kuwaitis and children of Kuwaiti women, with the exclusion of the other categories like the Stateless (Bedoon) who are not granted this right by the government.

The Eighth Set Of Questions:

1. Do you think that the admission test for the disabled to enter schools is fair?2. Do you think that persons with double disabilities face more rejection when applying to

join the schools for the disabled?3. Do you think that persons with disabilities receive suitable standard of education in the

schools specified for the disabled?4. Do you think that persons with disabilities receive a suitable standard of care in the

schools specified for the disabled?5. Do you approve the idea of including persons with disabilities with the other healthy

peers in public schools?6. Are the persons with disabilities separated from their healthy peers in public schools?


1. Most participants believe that admission tests to enter the schools specified for the disabled are unfair in determining the degree of disability.

26

2. The participants’ responses reveal that there is a dramatic situation for persons with double disabilities represented by the rejection of most schools to admit them, which creates a huge difficulty for this group of the disabled.

4. Most participants believe that persons with disabilities have access to a good level of care

in the schools specified for the disabled.

6 The idea of inclusion of the disabled with other students in public schools received the approval of a large number of participants, and if there were groups concerned about this, it might be a result of their fear of lack of awareness of society in dealing with persons with disabilities, and this fear was confirmed in the responses made to the last question which revealed the desire of many to separate the persons with disabilities from their healthy peers in schools.

The Ninth Set of Questions:

1. Do you think that there are equal opportunities for the admission of persons with disabilities in the institutes and colleges?

2. Do you think that persons with disabilities receive a special assistance in the institutes and colleges commensurate with their conditions?

3. Do public institutes and colleges provide transportation means suitable for persons with disabilities to move between the faculties similarly to their healthy peers?

4. Do public institutes and colleges provide study textbooks and learning aids that are suitable for persons with disabilities to enable them to attain scientific knowledge and sit for tests?

5. Does the government provide clubs and recreation centers suitable for persons with disabilities?

27


1. Most responses were in agreement that admission opportunities for persons with disabilities in institutes and universities are equal to their healthy peers, and the responses that disagreed belonged, for example, to the children of non-Kuwaitis like the Stateless (Bedoon).

2. Most of the participants believe that they do not receive a special assistance in colleges and institutes commensurate with the conditions of their disabilities, and this is confirmed by the responses made to the question that followed which revealed the lack of textbooks and learning aids as well as the means of transportation.

5 When participants were asked about the availability of suitable entertainment facilities, most responses were negative (NO), and this has always been confirmed in the case studies of the disabled in which they pointed to the lack of recreation centers commensurate with the category of the special needs.

The Tenth Set of Questions (Stateless (Bedoon) and children of Kuwaiti mothers):

1. In your opinion, is there an activation of Laws 32 and 35 on the disabled children of Kuwaiti women?

2. Do you think that persons with disabilities who are children of Kuwaiti mothers enjoy a decent standard of living?

3. In your opinion, does the government provide suitable health services for the children of Kuwaiti women?

4. In your opinion, does the government provide suitable health services for the children of the Stateless (Bedoon)?

28

5. Do persons with disabilities receive financial subsidies to support them to get their disability supplies easily?

6. Do disabled children of Kuwaiti women receive a salary from the government pursuant to the Law of equality between them and the children of Kuwaiti men?

7. Do the disabled children of Kuwaiti women enjoy the same rights granted to the disabled children of Kuwaiti men on equal basis?


From the results of the responses to questions 50-56 of the questionnaire, we find a quasi-consensus that disabled children of Kuwaiti women and also disabled children of the Stateless (Bidoon) do not enjoy the same rights enjoyed by the disabled children of Kuwaiti men, which constitutes a difficulty and obstacle for them to exercise their lives and adds extra burden on the shoulders of their parents; this requires looking into their exceptional humanitarian conditions and taking them into account.

We summarize what we collected of personal attitudes from the questionnaire in the final recommendations below.

(6) Final Recommendations:

From the previous survey of the study of the Law of 2010 on Persons with Disabilities, and from the personal interviews with the subjects of the case studies, and from the results of the questionnaire and the case studies, Rawasi Association has come up with some recommendations that it looks forward to their implementation on the ground to ensure the service of the category of persons with disabilities and include them in the society to exercise a normal life. Some of these recommendations are the following:

29

1. Encouraging scientific research in the areas of persons with disabilities, and holding special conferences on this category of people that would discuss the difficulties they face and offer solutions for every aspect of their lives whether medical, educational, social, psychological…etc.

2. The need to adhere to the classification of the categories of persons with disabilities set by the law, which are divided into four categories (kinetic (motor movement), auditory (hearing) , visual, mental) in order to prevent the addition of people on whom the classification doesn’t apply, which could add extra burden on the Disabled Authority and accordingly become unable to carry out its duties in fulfilling their rights.

3. Looking into the classification of the disabled in the law to ensure that it is equivalent to laws applied in the developed countries with respect the determination of the degree of disability for there are many rights involved subsequently.

4. Activating Item (3) of Article (1) concerning communication by Braille system (which is a means of reading and writing for the blind) so that it become an integral part of any public, civil or commercial business.

5. Amending Article (2) so that the provisions of the law apply to disabled non-Kuwaitis, the Stateless, and the expatriates, especially with regard to the health aspect and the provision of medical supplies, as well as with regard to the educational aspect.

6. Amending Article (3) so that persons with disabilities who are children of Kuwaiti mothers shall be treated equally to Kuwaitis without the need for a decision from the Minister of Interior, or to facilitate those procedures to enable the children of Kuwaiti women to gain their rights on equal footing with the disabled children of Kuwaiti men as stated in the law.

7. Implementing all the clauses of Article (5) that require the government to commit itself to providing offices that offer services to persons with disabilities in all of its public institutions and authorities, including the recruitment of a sign language interpreter and an aide for the service of the blind to ensure their enjoyment of their rights on equal footing with others.

8. Amending Article (9) to exclude slow learners and persons with learning difficulties from the Persons with Disabilities Act, and refer them to an authority under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education to address their cases.

9. Amending the wordings of Article (22) to read as “the authority shall be committed to” instead of “the authority strives to” educating the community about the rights of persons with disabilities in order to maintain their humanity and dignity, and impose penalties in case of infringement of such rights, through the media, programs, activities, conferences and lectures to include the disabled in the society in a proper way.

30

10. Amending Article (39) to grant any official or employee who is a caretaker of a disabled person a fully-paid special leave if he/she was a companion of the disabled during his treatment abroad, and this should not be limited to the parent or spouse of the disabled only.

11. Amending Article (40) to entitle any male or female employee who is a caretaker of a disabled person a reduction in the working hours, and this should not be limited only to the caretaking parent or spouse, as according to Article (25), the above mentioned employees may be assigned the duty of caretaking of the disabled like their parents, bothers… etc.

12. Reducing the working hours of caretakers of disabled persons who work in the private sector.

13. Lowering the retirement age or duration of service for caretakers of persons with disabilities.

14. Preparing medical staff specialized in providing therapy services for persons with disabilities through introducing suitable educational and medical programs in addition to the process of equipping health centers and hospitals to admit the disabled and give them priority in medical appointments. Also, Laws should be enacted to carry out regular periodic medical examinations to monitor the progress of their health conditions.

15. Providing artificial limbs for disabled amputees or facilitating the process of getting them from overseas.

16. Providing Centers for psychological counseling to follow up the psychological and social conditions of the disabled and their families to enable them to coexist with the rest of population in the community.

17. Activating the role of the Friends of the Disabled Commission, or finding a body that would be concerned with following up the conditions of persons with disabilities and ensuring that their caretakers are satisfying all their needs and that they are receiving all the necessary services.

18. Increasing the number of schools and institutes for the persons with disabilities in proportion to the increase in the number of the disabled, and providing training and rehabilitation centers to meet their needs.

19. Finding scholastic solutions for the persons with double disabilities and not depriving them from their right for education.

20. Reviewing the examinations set for determining the degree of intellectual disability with respect to education in order to place them in the appropriate level of education.

21. Striving to promote the level of learning for the persons with disabilities, keeping abreast with the updates in this field, and paying attention to the level of care provided to them in schools.

31

22. Preparing the society and individuals in schools to accept the inclusion of some persons with disabilities in public schools, by learning from other countries and educational institutions that have expertise in this field.

23. It is important to introduce a new specialization in the Faculty of Education to teach persons with disabilities, which includes all the subjects taught in their own schools, in order to graduate a cadre of qualified teachers capable of teaching this category of students.

24. Speeding the process of finding suitable solutions for providing textbooks and teaching aids appropriate to persons with disabilities in colleges and institutes.

25. Backing the talented among the persons with disabilities, supporting them to participate nationally and internationally in conferences, competitions and clubs, and providing every assistance that would help them make effective participation.

26. Providing appropriate job opportunities for persons with disabilities and controlling discrimination between them and the rest of the population.

27. Achieving equality between disabled women and men in all the rights and privileges granted to disabled men.

28. Eliminating any obstacles that hinder the disabled from completing their transactions by themselves, such as finding an alternative to the custodian system which is in force in the banks when dealing with persons who have visual disability.

29. Sending leaflets of any updates of the laws relating to persons with disabilities to the employees in the public sectors that deal with this category of individuals as soon as possible to facilitate procedures for the disabled when they visit these sectors.

30. Providing appropriate means of transportation for persons with disabilities and equipping them with the appropriate devices commensurate with their disabilities.

31. Preparing all public buildings, facilities, markets and complexes to be use-friendly by the disabled.

32. Finding appropriate measures for enforcing the law of issuing citations for the offenders who park their vehicles in the parking lots designated for the disabled.

33. Issuing the special parking badges for the disabled to caretakers of disabled babies.

34. Providing clubs and recreation centers to suit all ages and all types of disabilities in all the districts of Kuwait.

32

35. Protecting the rights of disabled Kuwaiti citizens who have crafts or sports talents, providing appropriate care and opportunities for their participation in international competitions, and holding accountable all the individuals or agencies that infringe these rights.

36. Providing a complementary seat for persons with disabilities in the National Assembly.

37. Issuing laws for protecting the disabled from fraud to prevent exploiting them financially or taking advantage of them to commit crimes.

38. Facilitating the procedures of dispensing Credit Bank grants and providing housing for the disabled children of Kuwaiti women.

39. Encouraging and facilitating the promulgation of associations concerned with persons with disabilities, and providing the necessary support for them.

(7) Acknowledgements

The National Association of Familial Security "Rawasi" expresses its sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who contributed to the preparation of the First Parallel Report to the Periodic Report of Kuwait on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and it expresses its special gratitude to the following:

- The persons with disabilities and their caretakers of families who agreed to give personal interviews or who participated in completing the questionnaire set by “Rawasi” Association.

- Non-profit organizations, including the Follow-up Commission on the cases of persons with disabilities, and special thanks are due to Mr. Ali Al-Thuwaini for his constructive collaboration with the Association and the valuable information he submitted in this regard, in addition to the Association of Parents of the Disabled, the Kuwait Sports Club for the Disabled and most notably its chairman Mr. Shafi Mohammed Al Hajri, the Association of Multiple Sclerosis Patients, Al-Kharafi Center for Activities of the Disabled Children, and the Kuwaiti Society for Down Syndrome; we present them all with our appreciation and great gratitude.

33

office of the united nations high commissioner for human ... · web viewkuwait has culminated its...

Documents