Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - Kuwait

State of Kuwait

Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.

Population: 2.4 million (0.7 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 15,500
Compulsory recruitment age: unclear
Voluntary recruitment age: 18
Voting age: 21
Optional Protocol: not signed
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ILO 138, ILO 182

There were no reports of under-18s in the armed forces.

Context

Since the withdrawal of Iraqi forces in February 1991, Kuwait has hosted western alliance forces, and in March 2003 served as the main launch pad for the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Government

National recruitment legislation and practice Conscription was introduced in 1980, suspended in 2001 and finally abolished in 2002. It was not possible to obtain official confirmation that the armed forces were subsequently recruited on a voluntary basis, and it appeared that military service remained compulsory in law.¹ According to official information, two years of military service, or one year for university graduates, was compulsory for all male citizens from 18 years of age.²

In its report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1996, Kuwait stated that "no one under 18 years of age is permitted to enlist for military service". The prohibition on under-18s was "to prevent the involvement of children in armed conflicts". However, the report also stated that "Article 32 of the Army Act No. 32 of 1967 further stipulates that everyone appointed to serve in the army must be over 21 years of age".³

1 Information from International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), 15 March 2004.

2 Kuwait Information Office, http://www.kuwaitinfo.com/sidepages/state_ministries_defence.asp.

3 Initial report of Kuwait to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/8/Add.35, December 1996, http://www.ohchr.org.