International Mechanism Submissions

This report addresses Kuwait’s compliance with its international human rights This report addresses Kuwait’s compliance with its international human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty with respect to the death penalty.

Kuwait has not abolished the death penalty, nor has it limited the application of the death penalty to the “most serious” crimes. Although Kuwait began a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2007, authorities never codified the moratorium and Kuwait resumed executions in 2013. The Kuwaiti Government also lacks transparency regarding its use of the death penalty, although according to public reporting, Kuwait has executed at least 24 individuals since 2013 and it is estimated that 54 individuals are currently on death row. In September 2024, Kuwait executed six individuals convicted of murder.

This report examines the current state of the death penalty in Kuwait and recommends Kuwait abolish the death penalty and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This report further recommends, in the meantime, that Kuwait: (1) institute an official moratorium on executions, and (2) limit the death penalty to the “most serious” crimes, as defined by international human rights standards.