A/HRC/43/41/Add.1 per cent of gross domestic product. 2 For the fiscal year 2018/19, one third of the State budget was allocated to general public services, 13 per cent to education, almost 11 per cent to health and 2.4 per cent to social protection.3 7. In 2019, Kuwait had an estimated 4,420,110 inhabitants. Of this population, 62 per cent were male and 38 per cent female, with 26 per cent below 20 years of age. Kuwaiti nationals accounted for nearly one third of the population, while 69 per cent were nonKuwaitis. 4 The overall estimated number of persons with disabilities in Kuwait is not known. According to administrative data, in 2018 there were 65,123 persons with a disability certificate. In general, there is a serious lack of sociodemographic data and statistics disaggregated by disability. There is no data available from household or other surveys, although it was reported that the 2011 national census had a chapter on disability. II. Situational analysis and achievements A. Legal framework 8. Kuwait ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013, but not its Optional Protocol. The Government made interpretative declarations on articles 12 (2) and 19 (a) of the Convention, and reservations to articles 18 (1) (a) and 23 (2). 9. Kuwait has ratified several other international human rights treaties, with the exception of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. Moreover, Kuwait is not yet a State party to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 10. Kuwait has a good record of submitting its reports to the treaty bodies on time. In 2015, it submitted its first national report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/KWT/1), which was considered in September 2019. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reviewed the situation in Kuwait in 2017 and made specific recommendations concerning the rights of women and girls with disabilities (CEDAW/C/KWT/CO/5, para. 45 (f)). The human rights situation in Kuwait was also examined as part of the universal periodic review in 2015, including with regard to disability issues. The country has issued a standing invitation to the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council and regularly hosts visits by them. 11. At the national level, the normative framework on disability rights is based primarily on Law No. 8/2010 on the rights of persons with disabilities. With the adoption of this Law, Kuwait has taken important measures to promote the access of Kuwaiti persons with disabilities to social protection, health, employment and education. Law No. 21/2015 on the protection of the rights of the child also contains provisions to protect the rights of children with disabilities. However, these and other laws are not fully compliant with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as explained in section C below. 2 3 4 See “Kuwait: ratio of government expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) from 2014 to 2024”. Available from www.statista.com/statistics/438897/ratio-of-government-expenditure-to-grossdomestic-product-gdp-in-kuwait/ (accessed on 9 December 2019). Kuwait, Ministry of Finance, The General Budget for the State of Kuwait 2018/2019, table 5, pp. 56–59. Kuwait, Central Statistical Bureau, “Population estimates in Kuwait by age, nationality and sex at 1/1/2019”. Available from www.csb.gov.kw/Pages/Statistics_en?ID=67&ParentCatID=1 (accessed on 20 September 2019). 3