Kuwait Closes All Human Rights Organizations

On August 6, 1993, the Kuwaiti government ordered the dissolution of all unlicensed organizations. Especially targeted were groups tracking the fate of Kuwaitis disappeared during the Iraqi occupation and believed held in Iraq, as well as human rights groups, including the Kuwaiti Association to Defend War Victims, Kuwait’s main human rights organization. The closure is a clear violation of the universally recognized right of free and peaceful association.