Bedoon

{{short description|Stateless people in the Arab Gulf States}} {{distinguish|Bedouin}} {{Lead too short|date=November 2025}} The '''Bedoon''' or '''Bidoon''' or '''Bidoun''' ({{langx|ar|بدون جنسية|lit=without nationality|translit=Bidūn jinsīya}}), fully '''Bidoon jinsiya''', are [[Statelessness|stateless]] people in several [[Middle East]]ern countries,<ref name="ar">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIJBiLdNJm4C&pg=PP55|title=World Migration 2005 Costs and Benefits of International Migration|publisher=International Organization for Migration|page=53|year=2005|isbn=9788171885503|access-date=2016-11-02|archive-date=2021-11-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121225736/https://books.google.com/books?id=xIJBiLdNJm4C&pg=PP55|url-status=live}}</ref> but particularly in [[Kuwait]], where there is a large population of stateless people who lack access to many of the country's basic services.<ref name="sect" /><ref name="sha" /><ref name="ran" /><ref name="edcoh" /> It is widely believed that the Bedoon issue in Kuwait is [[sectarianism|sectarian]] in nature.<ref name="sect" /><ref name="shia" /><ref name="sha" /><ref name="ran"/><ref name="alarabi" /><ref name="pp"/><ref name="edcoh" />

==Kuwait== ===History=== Kuwait has the largest stateless population in the entire region.<ref name="largest">{{cite news|url=https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/11/28/the-gulf%E2%80%99s-stateless-people-without-rights-decades-after-independence|title=The Gulf's Stateless People without Rights Decades after Independence|work=[[Human Rights First]]|language=en|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2015-07-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706144113/https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/11/28/the-gulf%E2%80%99s-stateless-people-without-rights-decades-after-independence|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most stateless Bedoon of Kuwait belong to the northern tribes, especially the [[Al-Muntafiq]] tribal confederation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elaph.com/Web/NewsPapers/2007/4/229670.htm|title=بدون الكويت: كرة ثلج تتدحرج منذ 40 عاماً|work=[[Elaph]]|date=2007|language=ar|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2022-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113011520/https://elaph.com/amp/Web/NewsPapers/2007/4/229670.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://platformpost.net/article/-27|title=أزمة الهوية الوطنية - د. فايز الفايز|work=Platform Post|author=Fayez Alfayez|date=February 26, 2021|language=ar|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227125059/http://platformpost.net/article/-27|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="alarabi">{{Cite web|url=https://assafirarabi.com/ar/3094/2012/09/19/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%80%D9%80%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%AA-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%88%D9%8A/|title=البدون فــي الكويـــت.. مواطنون بلا هوية|work=As-Safir Al-Arabi|author=Eman Shams Aldeen|date=September 19, 2012|language=ar|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124210805/http://assafirarabi.com/ar/3094/2012/09/19/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a8%d8%af%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%80%d9%80%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%88%d9%8a%d9%80%d9%80%d9%80%d8%aa-%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%84%d8%a7-%d9%87%d9%88%d9%8a/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/critical-statelessness-studies-blog/critical-sociolinguistic-ethnography-as-a-lens-to-statelessness-a-case-from-the-bidoon-community-in-kuwait|title=Critical sociolinguistic ethnography as a lens to statelessness: a case from the Bidoon community in Kuwait|author=Ahmad Jaber|date=February 2021|access-date=2021-02-28|archive-date=2021-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225132440/https://law.unimelb.edu.au/centres/statelessness/critical-statelessness-studies-blog/critical-sociolinguistic-ethnography-as-a-lens-to-statelessness-a-case-from-the-bidoon-community-in-kuwait|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="s" /><ref name="ohchr">{{Cite thesis|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|title=Report to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Annual Study. Bedoon Indigenous Rights in the Context of Borders, Migration and Displacement|publisher=[[OHCHR]]|page=1–63|year=2019|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2021-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145723/https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="csm">{{Cite web|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0820/20051.html|title=Stateless Bedoons Are Shut Out of Kuwait|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|year=1991|access-date=2015-01-09|archive-date=2015-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112133059/http://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0820/20051.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="north">{{Cite journal|title=The Bedoun Archive: A public archive created for the northern tribes Bedouin of Kuwait|author=Susan Kennedy Nour al Deen|journal=Education as Change |year=2018|volume=22 |issue=2 |doi=10.25159/1947-9417/3435 |s2cid=240259439 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The linguist Bruce Ingham studied the northern tribes in Kuwait in the mid 20th century.<ref name="clive">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZ93Usv6ni4C&pg=PA99|title=Arabic Dialectology: In Honour of Clive Holes on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday|editor=Enam al-Wer, Rudolf Erik de Jong|volume=53|pages=99–100|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789047425595|year=2009|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2021-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015031939/https://books.google.com/books?id=HZ93Usv6ni4C&pg=PA99|url-status=live}}</ref> A minority of stateless Bedoon in Kuwait belong to the [['Ajam of Kuwait|'Ajam community]].<ref name="ajam">{{Cite web|url=https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/|title=Between Two Deserts: Visual Vignettes from an Iranian-Kuwaiti Bidoon in New Mexico|author=Ajam Media Collective|year=2018|access-date=2021-02-28|archive-date=2021-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222143/https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under the terms of Article 4 of the [[Kuwaiti nationality law|Kuwait Nationality Law]], the Bedoon in Kuwait are eligible for Kuwaiti nationality by naturalization.<ref name="rights">{{Cite book |author=[[David S. Weissbrodt]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4somFYg1REC&pg=PA98 |title=The Human Rights of Non-citizens |year=2008 |isbn=9780199547821 |page=98 | publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2021-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194043/https://books.google.com/books?id=_4somFYg1REC&pg=PA98 |archive-date=2021-08-17 |url-status=live}}</ref> In practice, it is widely believed that [[Achomi people|Sunnis of Persian descent]] or tribal [[Saudis]] can readily achieve Kuwaiti naturalization whilst Bedoon of [[Iraqi people|Iraqi]] tribal ancestry cannot.<ref name="dis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/kuwait-bedoon-naturalization.html|title=Is Kuwait Serious About Bedoon Naturalization?|author=[[Mona Kareem]]|year=2013|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2021-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228230319/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/kuwait-bedoon-naturalization.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result, many Bedoon in Kuwait feel pressured to hide their background or sectarian affiliation.<ref name="un">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|title=The National Project to Resolve the Kuwaiti Bedoon Case (Kuwait) End Statelessness Foundation (Australia) - 1 February, 2019 Report to the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Annual Study - Bedoon Indigenous Rights in the Context of Borders, Migration and Displacement|page=23|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2021-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145723/https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/EMRIP/Call/KuwaitBedoonCase.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1965 until 1985, the Bedoon were treated as Kuwaiti citizens and guaranteed citizenship: they had free access to education, healthcare and all the other privileges of citizenship.<ref name="una" /> The stateless Bedoon constituted 80–90% of the [[Kuwaiti Army]] in the 1970s and 1980s until the [[Gulf War]].<ref name="refworld"/>

In 1985, at the height of the [[Iran–Iraq War]] and following an [[1983 Kuwait bombings#1985 attempted assassination of Jaber|assassination attempt]] on Emir [[Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah]],<ref name="newyorktimes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/26/world/car-bomber-fails-in-attempt-to-kill-leader-of-kuwait.html|title=CAR BOMBER FAILS IN ATTEMPT TO KILL LEADER OF KUWAIT|work=[[The New York Times]]|year=1985|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2022-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113123656/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/26/world/car-bomber-fails-in-attempt-to-kill-leader-of-kuwait.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="washingtinpost">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/05/26/kuwaiti-ruler-eludes-attack-by-car-bomber/62972d81-e59e-47eb-9f57-80370819610f/|title=Kuwaiti Ruler Eludes Attack By Car-Bomber|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|year=1985|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2022-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405194519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/05/26/kuwaiti-ruler-eludes-attack-by-car-bomber/62972d81-e59e-47eb-9f57-80370819610f/|url-status=live}}</ref> the Bedoon were reclassified as "illegal residents" and denied Kuwaiti citizenship and its accompanying privileges.<ref name="una" /><ref name="refworld" /><ref name="nytimes">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/31/world/kuwait-city-journal-the-bedoons-outcasts-in-the-land-they-served.html|title=Kuwait City Journal; The Bedoons: Outcasts in the Land They Served|work=[[The New York Times]]|year=1991|access-date=2020-12-14|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194047/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/31/world/kuwait-city-journal-the-bedoons-outcasts-in-the-land-they-served.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Iran-Iraq War threatened Kuwait's internal stability and the authorities feared the sectarian background of the stateless Bedoon.<ref name="refworld" /> The Bedoon issue in Kuwait "overlaps with historic sensitivities about [[Iraq]]i influence inside Kuwait", with many of those denied Kuwaiti nationality being believed to have originated from Iraq.<ref name="aus">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1144440/1930_1302700136_kwt37495.pdf|title=Australian Government - Bedoon|page=3|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2021-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174825/https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1144440/1930_1302700136_kwt37495.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1986, the Kuwaiti government has refused to grant any form of documentation to the Bedoon, including [[birth certificate]]s, [[death certificate]]s, [[identity card]]s, [[marriage certificate]]s, and [[driving licence]]s. The Bedoon also face many restrictions in employment, travel and education. They are not permitted to educate their children in state schools and universities.

In 1995, [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that there were 300,000 stateless Bedoon, and this number was formally repeated by the British government.<ref name="hrw">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Kuwait.htm|title=THE Bedoons of Kuwaiy Citizens without Citizenship|date=August 1995 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|access-date=2021-03-04|archive-date=2021-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223102322/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Kuwait.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="british">{{Cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-10-23/Debate-14.html|title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Oct 1995 - Parliament Publications|work=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]]|date=Oct 23, 1995|access-date=2021-03-03|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-10-23/Debate-14.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to several [[human rights organization]]s, the State of Kuwait is committing [[ethnic cleansing]] and [[genocide]] against the stateless Bedoon.<ref name="new">{{Cite web|url=https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=7585&file=EnglishTranslation|title=Kuwait's humanitarian disaster Inter-generational erasure, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Bedoon|publisher=[[OHCHR]]|year=2019|access-date=2021-03-15|archive-date=2021-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514053709/https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=7585&file=EnglishTranslation|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="s">{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/43213716|title=Kuwait's Laws and Policies of Ethnic Discrimination, Erasure and Genocide Against The Bedoon Minority Submission on 'Human Rights Protections for Minorities Recognised in the UN System'|work=Susan Kennedy Nour al Deen|year=2020|access-date=2021-03-02|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194043/https://www.academia.edu/43213716|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kuwaiti Bedoon crisis resembles the [[Rohingya]] crisis in [[Myanmar]].<ref name="rights" /> In 1995, it was reported in the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|parliament]] that the Al Sabah ruling family had deported 150,000 stateless Bedoon to refugee camps in the Kuwaiti desert near the [[Iraq–Kuwait border|Iraqi border]] with minimal water, insufficient food and no basic shelter, and that they were threatened with death if they returned to their homes in [[Kuwait City]].<ref name="british" /><ref name="north" /> As a result, many of the stateless Bedoon fled to Iraq, where they remain stateless people even today.<ref name="ir">{{cite web|title=EASO Country of Origin Information Report Iraq Targeting of Individuals|work=[[European Asylum Support Office]]|url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Iraq_targeting_of_individuals.pdf|pages=149–150|access-date=2021-03-10|archive-date=2021-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311144116/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Iraq_targeting_of_individuals.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="iraq">{{Cite news|author=Charlie Dunmore and Edith Champagne in Basra, Iraq|date=10 October 2019|title=Citizenship hopes become reality for Iraq's Bidoon minority|url=https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/10/5d9eda154/citizenship-hopes-become-reality-iraqs-bidoon-minority.html|work=[[UNCHR]]|access-date=1 March 2021|archive-date=20 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220091313/https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/10/5d9eda154/citizenship-hopes-become-reality-iraqs-bidoon-minority.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Kuwaiti government also stands accused of attempting to falsify their nationalities in official state documents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/Response%20of%20the%20Kuwaiti%20Government%20to%20HRW_0.pdf|title=Report on the Human Rights Watch Report and Response to its Questions and Inquiries|author=Human Rights Watch, 350 Fifth Avenue 34th Floor, New York|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en|access-date=2019-01-22|archive-date=2021-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727175233/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/Response%20of%20the%20Kuwaiti%20Government%20to%20HRW_0.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been reports of [[forced disappearances]] and [[mass graves]] of Bedoon.<ref name="new" /><ref name="united_nations2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-185085/|title=Mideast situation – Middle East Watch Report – Letter from Palestine|year=1991|work=[[United Nations]]|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817200253/https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-185085/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon">{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca75227.html|title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1993 - Kuwait|work=Human Rights Watch|year=1993|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2022-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607144034/https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca75227.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca5a23.html|title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 - Kuwait|year=1992|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2021-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128174039/https://www.refworld.org/docid/467fca5a23.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/opinion/l-in-kuwait-no-human-rights-progress-020591.html|title=In Kuwait, No Human-Rights Progress|year=1991|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194750/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/14/opinion/l-in-kuwait-no-human-rights-progress-020591.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mass_graves_bedoon3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Mew-06.htm|title=Human Rights Developments Kuwait|year=1993|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2021-03-08|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194751/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Mew-06.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="north" />

The 1995 [[Human Rights Watch]] report stated:

<blockquote>"The totality of the treatment of the Bedoons amounts to a policy of denationalization of native residents, relegating them to an apartheid-like existence in their own country. The Kuwaiti government policy of harassment and intimidation of the Bedoons and of denying them the right to lawful residence, employment, travel and movement, contravene basic principles of human rights. Denial of citizenship to the Bedoons clearly violates international law. Denying Bedoons the right to petition the courts to challenge governmental decisions regarding their claims to citizenship and lawful residence in the country violates the universal right to due process of law and equality before the law."<ref name="british" /> </blockquote>

British MP [[George Galloway]] stated:

<blockquote>"Of all the human rights atrocities committed by the ruling family in Kuwait, the worst and the greatest is that against the people known as the Bedoons. There are more than 300,000 Bedoons—one third of Kuwait's native population. Half of them—150,000—have been driven into refugee camps in the desert across the [[Iraq–Kuwait border|Iraqi border]] by the regime and left there to bake and to rot. The other 150,000 are treated not as second-class or even fifth-class citizens, but not as any sort of citizen. They are bereft of all rights. It is a scandal that almost no one in the world cares a thing about the plight of 300,000 people, 150,000 of them cast out of the land in which they have lived [when] many have lived in the Kuwaiti area for many centuries."<ref name="british" /> </blockquote>

By 2004, the Bedoon accounted for only 40% of the [[Kuwaiti Army]], a major reduction from their presence in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="armytwo">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dcaf.ch/content/download/33690/522597/version/1/file/ev_geneva_04071113_Alnajjar.pdf|title=Challenges of Security Sector Governance in Kuwait|pages=5–6|author=Ghanim Al-Najjar|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417031049/https://www.dcaf.ch/content/download/33690/522597/version/1/file/ev_geneva_04071113_Alnajjar.pdf|archive-date=2014-04-17}}</ref> In 2013, the UK government estimated that there were 110,729 "documented" Bedoon in Kuwait, without giving a total estimate, but noting that all stateless individuals in Kuwait remain at risk of persecution and human rights breaches.<ref name="ukgove">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom Government - Bedoon|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|pages=2|access-date=2014-03-28|archive-date=2013-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820162950/http://refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bedoon are generally categorized into three groups: stateless tribespeople, stateless police/military and the stateless children of Kuwaiti women who married Bedoon men.<ref name="refworld">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom Government - Bedoon|url=http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|access-date=2014-03-28|archive-date=2013-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820162950/http://refworld.org/pdfid/51f7b27b4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Kuwaiti government, there are only 93,000 "documented" Bedoon in Kuwait.<ref name="ukgove"/> In 2018, the Kuwaiti government claimed that it would naturalize up to 4,000 stateless Bedoon per year but this is considered unlikely.<ref name="dis" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/assembly-oks-bill-on-number-of-people-to-be-granted-kuwaiti-citizenship-in-18/|title=Assembly OKs bill on number of people to be granted Kuwaiti citizenship in '18|date=2018-03-21|website=ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT NEWS|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-17|archive-date=2018-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928205004/http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/assembly-oks-bill-on-number-of-people-to-be-granted-kuwaiti-citizenship-in-18/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the Iranian embassy in Kuwait announced that it offers Iranian citizenship to stateless Bedoon of Iranian ancestry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2019/09/09/Iran-offers-citizenship-to-stateless-people-with-Iranian-roots-in-Kuwait|title=Iran offers citizenship to stateless people with 'Iranian roots' in Kuwait|date=September 9, 2019|work=[[Al Arabiya]]|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2019/09/09/Iran-offers-citizenship-to-stateless-people-with-Iranian-roots-in-Kuwait|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alraimedia.com/article/861319/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86|title=طهران: مُستعدّون لتجنيس "البدون" الإيرانيين|date=September 8, 2019|work=Al Rai|language=ar|access-date=March 1, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://www.alraimedia.com/article/861319/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86|url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, the rate of [[suicide]] among Bedoon has risen sharply.<ref name="una">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/39817003|title=Kuwait Bedoon - Special Rapporteurs, United Nations, Requesting Investigation of Kuwait's Treatment of the Bedoon|journal=Un Special Procedures Request|date=January 2019 |access-date=2021-03-01|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194750/https://www.academia.edu/39817003|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Demographic engineering=== The State of Kuwait formally has an official [[Kuwaiti nationality law|Nationality Law]] that grants non-nationals a legal pathway to obtaining citizenship.<ref name="humanrightwatch">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/kuwait/kuwait-04.htm|title=IV. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON ORIGIN AND STATUS: THE BIDUN|work=[[Human Rights Watch]]|year=2000|access-date=2021-02-28|archive-date=2021-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506214731/http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/kuwait/kuwait-04.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, as access to citizenship in Kuwait is autocratically controlled by the [[House of Al Sabah|Al Sabah]] ruling family, it is not subject to any external regulatory supervision.<ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="humanrightwatch" /> The implementation of the Nationality Law is arbitrary and lacks transparency.<ref name="humanrightwatch" /><ref name="politicalnaturalization" /> The lack of transparency prevents non-nationals from receiving a fair opportunity to obtain citizenship.<ref name="unitednations">{{Cite web|work=[[United Nations]]|url=https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/HRC/46/NGO/33|title=Human Rights Council, Forty-sixth session, 22 February–19 March 2021, Agenda item 3, Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. Written statement* submitted by International Council. Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights, a nongovernmental organization in special consultative status. The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.|date=17 February 2021|page=2|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=4 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804164852/https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/HRC/46/NGO/33|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="politicalnaturalization" /> Consequently, the Al Sabah ruling family have been able to manipulate naturalization for politically motivated reasons.<ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="extralegal" /><ref name="naturalize" /><ref name="rivka" /><ref name="herb">{{Cite book|author=[[Michael Herb]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laODBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|title=The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE|date=18 December 2014| publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9780801454684|quote=How then do we explain the naturalizations that have occurred in the Gulf states in the past, such as the granting of citizenship to thousands of bedu (bedouin) by Kuwait in the 1960s and 1970s? Typically these naturalizations were imposed by the ruling families and were designed to alter the demographic makeup of the citizen society in a way that made the power of the ruling families more secure|access-date=3 May 2021|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194041/https://books.google.com/books?id=laODBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT59|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="unitednations" /><ref name="foreignpolicy" /><ref name="carn">{{Cite web|author=Justin Gengler|work=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2016/08/the-political-economy-of-sectarianism-in-the-gulf?lang=en|title=The Political Economy of Sectarianism in the Gulf|date=August 29, 2016|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304152105/https://carnegieendowment.org/2016/08/29/political-economy-of-sectarianism-in-gulf-pub-64410|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="jadaliyya" /> In the three decades after [[History of Kuwait#Independence and early state-building (1946–89)|independence in 1961]], the Al Sabah ruling family naturalized hundreds of thousands of foreign Bedouin immigrants predominantly from Saudi Arabia.<ref name="rivka">{{Cite book|author=Rivka Azoulay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|title=Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil State|page=21|year=2020| publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9781838605063|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194044/https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="pl" /><ref name="politicalnaturalization">{{Cite book|author=Rivka Azoulay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|title=Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil State|pages=100–110|year=2020| publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9781838605063|quote=Political naturalizations of tribesmen|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194043/https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="foreignpolicy">{{Cite web|author=Gwenn Okruhlik|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/02/08/the-identity-politics-of-kuwaits-election/|title=The identity politics of Kuwait's election|date=February 8, 2012|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=January 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108232344/https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/02/08/the-identity-politics-of-kuwaits-election/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="extralegal">{{Cite web|author=Claire Beaugrand|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46519156.pdf|title=Statelessness and Transnationalism in Northern Arabia: Biduns and State Building in Kuwait, 1959-2009|page=137|quote=Extra-Legal Naturalisations and Population Statistics|access-date=2021-02-28|archive-date=2021-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174839/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46519156.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="carn" /><ref name="naturalize">{{Cite book|editor=[[Frederic Wehrey]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5NODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|title=Beyond Sunni and Shia: The Roots of Sectarianism in a Changing Middle East|date=February 2018|page=186| publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190911195|quote=To counter the strong influence of Arab nationalism in the decades after independence in 1961, Kuwait naturalized more than 200,000 Bedouin tribesmen to serve as a reliable pro-government bloc in parliament.|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194045/https://books.google.com/books?id=g5NODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="unitednations" /><ref name="jadaliyya" /><ref name="alshahed" /> By 1980, as many as 200,000 immigrants were naturalized in Kuwait.<ref name="pl" /> Throughout the 1980s, the Al Sabah's politically motivated naturalization policy continued.<ref name="pl" /><ref name="politicalnaturalization" /> The naturalizations were not regulated nor sanctioned by [[Kuwaiti nationality law|Kuwaiti law]].<ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="extralegal" /><ref name="rivka" /><ref name="alshahed" /> The exact number of naturalizations is unknown but it is estimated that up to 400,000 immigrants were unlawfully naturalized in Kuwait.<ref name="alshahed">{{Cite web|url=https://alshahedkw.com/182290|title=اتقوا الله وجنِّسوا الكويتيين البدون|work=Al-Shahed Newspaper|author=Sheikh Sabah Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah|date=February 10, 2018|language=ar|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304021850/https://alshahedkw.com/182290|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rivka" /> The foreign Bedouin immigrants were mainly naturalized to alter the demographic makeup of the citizen population in a way that made the power of the Al Sabah ruling family more secure.<ref name="herb" /><ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="extralegal" /><ref name="rivka" /> As a result of the politically motivated naturalizations, the number of naturalized citizens exceeds the number of Bedoon in Kuwait.<ref name="unitednations" /> The Al Sabah ruling family actively encouraged foreign Bedouin immigrants to migrate to Kuwait.<ref name="pl" /> The Al Sabah ruling family favored naturalizing Bedouin immigrants because they were considered loyal to the ruling family, unlike the politically active Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian expats in Kuwait.<ref name="pl">{{Cite web|author=Andrzej Kapiszewski|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/214930677.pdf|title=Non-indigenous citizens and "stateless" residents in the Gulf monarchies. The Kuwaiti bidun.|page=70|year=2005|access-date=2021-02-28|archive-date=2021-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727174922/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/214930677.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The naturalized citizens were predominantly Sunni Saudi immigrants from southern tribes.<ref name="jadaliyya" /><ref name="rivka" /><ref name="extralegal" /> Accordingly, none of the stateless Bedoon in Kuwait belong to the Ajman tribe.<ref name="extralegal" />

The Kuwaiti judicial system's lack of authority to rule on citizenship further complicates the Bedoon crisis, leaving Bedoon no access to the judiciary to present evidence and plead their case for citizenship.<ref name="unitednations" /> Although non-nationals constitute 70% of Kuwait's total population the Al Sabah ruling family persistently denies citizenship to most non-nationals, including those who fully satisfy the requirements for naturalization as stipulated in the state's official Nationality Law. There is no official national census disclosing sectarian affiliation in Kuwait. However, it is estimated that 60-80% of Kuwait's Bedoon are [[Shia Muslims]]<ref name="sect">{{Cite web|url=https://tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/38287|title=Government of United Kingdom|quote="The Kuwaiti Bedoon's continued exclusion from nationality can only be understood in the light of the power struggle in a system which was largely based on [[sectarianism]] and tribalism within newly emerging emirates striving to assert their legitimacy and authority. The majority of the Bedoon are in fact an extended branch of tribes across the borders between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia and are largely of the [[Shia Islam|Muslim Shi'ite faith]]".|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2020-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228232956/https://tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/38287|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sha">{{Cite web|url=http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612890/index.pdf|title=State formation of Kuwait|page=83|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2021-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145711/http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12612890/index.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="shia">{{Cite web|url=https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/assets/hull:16877a/content|title=Exploring the perceptions of informed individuals about the education provisions of Bidoun in Kuwait|page=13|access-date=2020-12-28|archive-date=2022-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126175520/https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/assets/hull:16877a/content|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="alarabi" /><ref name="edcoh">{{Cite web|url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/interactive/amp/article/834567|title=כוויית: עושר רב לצד מתחים אתניים ודיכוי|work=[[Israel Hayom]]|date=3 January 2021 |language=he|access-date=2021-03-09|archive-date=2021-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721172205/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/interactive/amp/article/834567|url-status=live}}</ref> as a result, it is widely believed that the Bedoon issue in Kuwait is [[sectarian]] in nature.<ref name="sect" /><ref name="shia" /><ref name="sha" /><ref name="ran">{{Cite web|url=https://www.matthewteller.com/2013/01/14/stateless-in-kuwait/|title=Stateless in Kuwait|date=14 January 2013|quote=The Sunni ruling elite discriminate against the bidoon, many of whom are Shia.|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111145709/https://www.matthewteller.com/2013/01/14/stateless-in-kuwait/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="alarabi" /><ref name="pp">{{Cite web|url=http://platformpost.net/article/-16|title=خمسة أسباب لاستمرار قضية البدون - جابر الشريفي|work=Platform Post|author=Jaber Al-Sharefee|date=January 26, 2021|language=ar|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227000439/http://platformpost.net/article/-16|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="edcoh" /> The Kuwaiti authorities permit the forgery of hundreds of thousands of politically motivated naturalizations<ref name="unitednations" /><ref name="alshahed" /> whilst simultaneously denying citizenship to the Bedoon.<ref name="unitednations" /><ref name="alshahed" /> The politically motivated naturalizations were noted by the [[United Nations]], political activists, scholars, researchers and even members of the Al Sabah family.<ref name="unitednations" /><ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="extralegal" /><ref name="rivka" /><ref name="herb" /><ref name="naturalize" /><ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=history_theses |title=The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries |publisher=[[Georgia State University]] |year=2010 |author=Mohammad E. Alhabib |page=46 |access-date=2021-02-28 |archive-date=2016-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227165722/http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=history_theses |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="foreignpolicy" /><ref name="pl" /><ref name="carn" /><ref name="alshahed" /> It is widely considered a form of deliberate [[demographic engineering]].<ref name=demographic_engineering>{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2023/07/turning-points-the-junior-fellows-compendium?lang=en#chapter4|title=Kuwait's Stateless Stalemate: How the Weaponization of Citizenship Transformed State and Society|author=Mohammad Al-Mailam|work=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|Carnegie Endowment]]|date=July 2023}}</ref> It has been likened to [[Bahrain]]'s politically motivated naturalization policy.<ref name="politicalnaturalization" /><ref name="herb" /><ref name="jadaliyya">{{cite web|url=https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/28458/Questioning-Sectarianism-in-Bahrain-and-Beyond-An-Interview-with-Justin-Gengler|title=Questioning Sectarianism in Bahrain and Beyond: An Interview with Justin Gengler|publisher=[[Jadaliyya]]|date=April 17, 2013|author=John Warner|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194044/https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/28458/Questioning-Sectarianism-in-Bahrain-and-Beyond-An-Interview-with-Justin-Gengler|url-status=live}}</ref> Within the GCC countries, politically motivated naturalization policies are referred to as "political naturalization" ({{lang|ar|التجنيس السياسي}}).<ref name="politicalnaturalization" />

===Asylum seekers in Europe=== {{See also|English Channel migrant crossings (2018–present)}} A large number of stateless Bedoon regularly immigrate to Europe as asylum seekers. The United Kingdom is the most popular destination for Bedoon asylum seekers. According to the [[Home Office]], Kuwait is the eighth largest source of asylum seekers [[English Channel migrant crossings (2018–present)|crossing the English Channel on small boats]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Channel-crossings-and-asylum-outcomes-November-2021.pdf|title=An analysis of Channel crossings & asylum outcomes November 2021|date=November 2021|work=[[Refugee Council]]|pages=3–4|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2021-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117112516/https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Channel-crossings-and-asylum-outcomes-November-2021.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/17/most-people-who-risk-channel-boat-crossings-are-refugees-report|title=Most people who risk Channel boat crossings are refugees – report|date=November 2021|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2022-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113025921/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/nov/17/most-people-who-risk-channel-boat-crossings-are-refugees-report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ein.org.uk/news/refugee-council-majority-asylum-seekers-crossing-channel-are-likely-be-recognised-being|title=Refugee Council: Majority of asylum seekers crossing the Channel are likely to be recognised as being in genuine need of protection|date=November 2021|work=[[Refugee Council]]|access-date=2022-01-13|archive-date=2022-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113025929/https://www.ein.org.uk/news/refugee-council-majority-asylum-seekers-crossing-channel-are-likely-be-recognised-being|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Iraq== {{See also|Iraq–Kuwait border|Iraq–Kuwait relations}} Immediately after the [[1991 Gulf War]] many stateless Bedoon from Kuwait migrated to Iraq, most with no recognized nationality or official papers.<ref name="iraq" /> There are currently tens of thousands of Kuwaiti stateless Bedoon living in Iraq.<ref name="iraq" /> The process of obtaining citizenship is much simpler in Iraq than in Kuwait owing to the presence of judicial court systems of reviewing citizenship.<ref name="iraq" /> Since August 2017, the [[UNCHR]] has been coordinating with Iraqi NGOs to help stateless Bedoon receive Iraqi citizenship.<ref name="iraq" />

==United Arab Emirates== {{Further|Comoros passport sales scandal}} According to Federal Law No 17 of the United Arab Emirates Citizenship and Passport Law of 1972, any Arab who resided in the [[Trucial States]] before 1925 is eligible to obtain [[Emirati nationality law|UAE citizenship]].<ref name="law">{{cite web |url=http://www.gcc-legal.org/LawAsPDF.aspx?opt&country=0&LawID=3147#Section_6582 |title=UAE Citizenship and Passport Law of Year 1972, Article 17 |access-date=2018-01-23 |archive-date=2018-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805052324/http://www.gcc-legal.org/LawAsPDF.aspx?opt&country=0&LawID=3147#Section_6582 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many stateless people who live in the UAE have failed to obtain [[Emirati passport]]s, either because they have failed to demonstrate that they lived in the region before 1925, their roots cannot be traced back to the UAE region or because they arrived in the region after 1925. Stateless people are generally considered descendants of immigrants of Badia Arabs from [[Al-Balushi|Balush]] or [[Iranians in the United Arab Emirates|Iranian]] [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Baloch]] ancestry. The UAE also deported some Bedoon people after the [[Arab Spring]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-turns-to-deportation-to-silence-regimes-critics-7821155.html|title=UAE turns to deportation to silence regime's critics|date=2012-06-07|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-date=2019-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111095317/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-turns-to-deportation-to-silence-regimes-critics-7821155.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

All stateless people in the UAE unable to obtain any passport are offered the [[Comorian passport]], free of charge, through a government initiative for a [[Immigrant investor programs|citizenship by investment]] deal worth millions of dollars with the government of [[Comoros]] and enjoy certain citizenship privileges such as subsidized education and access to government jobs in the UAE.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/citizenship-hope-for-uae-s-stateless-1.362084 |title=Citizenship hope for UAE stateless |date=31 July 2012 |access-date=2018-01-23 |archive-date=2018-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141429/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/citizenship-hope-for-uae-s-stateless-1.362084 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/special-report-ten-years-on-the-uae-s-stateless-people-reflect-on-how-life-has-improved-and-on-the-challenges-ahead-1.767367|title=Special report: Ten years on, the UAE's stateless people reflect on how life has improved and on the challenges ahead|publisher=The National|date=5 September 2018|access-date=29 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416144114/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/special-report-ten-years-on-the-uae-s-stateless-people-reflect-on-how-life-has-improved-and-on-the-challenges-ahead-1.767367|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/opinion/sunday/united-arab-emirates-comorans-citizenship.html|title=Opinion {{!}} Who Loses When a Country Puts Citizenship Up for Sale?|last=Abrahamian|first=Atossa Araxia|date=2018-01-05|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2019-08-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627134226/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/opinion/sunday/united-arab-emirates-comorans-citizenship.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Saudi Arabia== Bedoon in Saudi Arabia are not considered Saudi citizens and therefore have no benefits. Saudi Arabia has revoked citizenship of certain Saudis in the past too, which means these people become Bedoon. However some of them have the right to education, free healthcare and access to jobs that are not exclusive to citizens. Most of these Bedoon are displaced from Yemen or Jordan and Syria.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-immolation-poverty-idUSBRE95P0RX20130626|title=Immolation in Riyadh exposes plight of Arab stateless in Saudi Arabia|date=2013-06-26|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-08-06|language=en|archive-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627134424/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-immolation-poverty-idUSBRE95P0RX20130626|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/08/30/The-Bidoon-of-Saudi-Arabia-Generations-of-discrimination.html|title=The 'Bidoon' of Saudi Arabia: Generations of discrimination|website=english.alarabiya.net|date=30 August 2014 |language=en|access-date=2019-08-06|archive-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627134707/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/08/30/The-Bidoon-of-Saudi-Arabia-Generations-of-discrimination.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Islamic Republic of Iran== There are also stateless people in different provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran, known as Bedoon-e Shenasnameh, which means without having a birth certificate or ID. The majority of the stateless people in Iran are [[Baloch of Iran|Baloch]] people living in the province of [[Sistan and Baluchestan Province|Sistan and Baluchestan]]. A small minority of stateless people live in [[Khuzestan Province|Khuzestan]] and [[Kurdistan Province|Kurdistan]] provinces.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thousands left stateless in Iran amid ID card limbo - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2018/08/iran-baloch-stateless-id-cards-shenasnameh-limbo-services.html|access-date=2022-01-03|website=www.al-monitor.com|date=22 August 2018 |language=en|archive-date=2022-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103222909/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2018/08/iran-baloch-stateless-id-cards-shenasnameh-limbo-services.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Qatar==

Qatar has a number of stateless people living within its borders. Qatar has stripped the citizenship of and imprisoned many of the members of the Al-Ghufran tribe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1566326/middle-east|title=Doha rejects opportunity at UN to end its persecution of Qatari tribe|date=2019-10-09|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2020-02-12|archive-date=2019-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009125215/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1566326/middle-east|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Bahrain==

Like neighboring Qatar, Bahrain also has a number of stateless people, some of whom were dissidents.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2014/11/15/the-new-unpeople|title=The new unpeople|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2020-02-12|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=2020-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201071934/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2014/11/15/the-new-unpeople|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also== *[[Statelessness]]

==Notes== {{Reflist|33em}}

[[Category:Stateless people]] [[Category:Society of Kuwait]] [[Category:Anti-Shi'ism]] [[Category:Human rights abuses in Kuwait]] [[Category:Sectarianism]] [[Category:Genocides in Asia]] [[Category:Mass graves]] [[Category:Human rights in Kuwait]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]] [[Category:Social history of Kuwait]] [[Category:Statelessness]] [[Category:Xenophobia in Asia]] [[Category:Social class in Asia]] [[Category:Political repression]]