Jurists Criticize 60s Decision, Says It Violates International Treaties, Covenants

Two jurists have criticized the decision issued by the Public Authority for Manpower to impose a 500 dinars fee in addition to private health insurance on residents aged 60 years who do not have a university qualification, stressing that the decision clearly seen as ‘unconstitutional’ and issued in violation of international treaties and covenants in the field of human rights to which Kuwait is a signatory.

Professor of Public Law at the Faculty of Law at the Kuwait University Dr Fawaz Al-Jadaei said from a constitutional point of view, if the decision is correct, it contains a clear constitutional suspicion, because it discriminates unjustifiedly between residents who hold a university degree and those who do not.

Al-Jadaei explained there is a similarity in the legal positions of residents aged 60 and above, and this decision differentiates between those who hold a university degree and those who do not, in violation of Article 7 of the Constitution, which states that “justice, freedom and equality are the pillars of society,” and Article 29, which states that “People are equal in human dignity, and they are equal before the law in public rights and duties, without discrimination between them in this regard on the grounds of gender, origin, language or religion,” reports Al-Anba.

He indicated that the decision invokes relief from the burdens of the health sector on the grounds that adults sixty years and over usually suffer from diseases and put pressure on the health service, but the decision made a difference between those who hold a university degree and those who do not, as if those who hold a university degree are immune from disease, at a time when the decision is about granting residence permit in the country, not employment or promotion, so that academic qualifications are taken as a criterion.

Professor of International Law and Human Rights, Dr. Khaled Al-Yaqout said if the decision was issued in this way, it explicitly violates Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “all people are equal before the law, and they are equal in enjoying the protection of the law without discrimination.”

They also have the right to enjoy equal protection from any discrimination that violates this declaration and from any incitement to such discrimination,” noting that Kuwait has acceded to and ratified this declaration.

Discrimination because of age is a crime in Western culture, as there are international movements and organizations that criminalize racial discrimination because of age and call for honoring the elderly, which requires reconsideration, especially since a large number of those the decision addresses do not have the ability to pay huge fees and they live with their children and grandchildren here. Some of them cannot travel to their country because of the conditions in their countries.

He stated that imposing additional fees on this category and not others is an unthoughtful decision. He indicated such a decision cannot be issued under the pretext of mitigating the health sector or reducing the number of residents, as there are other, more effective and law-respecting ways and methods through which the problem of the increase in the number of residents can be solved. The number of residents, among whom there is a significant number of marginal and bulk workers, and they should be the first to ‘go’ instead of those who spent long years in the country and spent their lives in its service.

 

 

 

SOURCE  TIMESKUWAIT

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