Personnel Risk:

Very High

Score:

20/100

Leadership Behaviour

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Q34 8/100

Do the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister, Chiefs of Defence, and Single Service Chiefs publicly commit, through, for example, speeches, media interviews, or political mandates, to anti-corruption and integrity measures?

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Chiefs/Ministers: Internal communications Score: 25 / 100
The heads of security agencies in Kuwait have made a commitment to anti-corruption measures, but these ministries do not regularly communicate that to officers,…
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Chiefs/Ministers: Public commitment Score: 0 / 100
High-ranking security and defence officials do not discuss corruption in their institutions explicitly or clearly. They rarely give press interviews and they do not…
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Unit commanders and leaders Score: 0 / 100
There are very few statements from the security agencies discussing the issue of corruption, but there are many statements about integrity as one of…
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Q35 13/100

Are there effective measures in place for personnel found to have taken part in forms of bribery and corruption, and is there evidence that these measures are being carried out?

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Sanctions Score: 25 / 100
Bribery and corruption are not defined in the laws that apply to the military and police but there are wider legal mechanisms cover them,…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
These institutions investigate very few issues and auditors from the SAB, ACA and CSC interviewed said that no one has been prosecuted (1, 2…
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Q36 25/100

Is whistleblowing encouraged by the government, and are whistle-blowers in military and defence ministries afforded adequate protection from reprisal for reporting evidence of corruption, in both law and practice?

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Legal provisions Score: 50 / 100
There is legislation on whistleblowing and it does apply to the military, the police and the KNG. The legislation explicitly promises whistleblower protection from…
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Prioritisation Score: 25 / 100
Whistleblowing is encouraged by the Government through the ACA’s media messages and the training courses it offers Government agencies, including the defence and security…
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Effectiveness Score: 0 / 100
Few believe that whistleblowers would be protected instead of punished and this is why no one comes forward, officials said (1, 2 and 3).…
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Q37 0/100

Is special attention paid to the selection, time in post, and oversight of personnel in sensitive positions, including officials and personnel in defence procurement, contracting, financial management, and commercial management?

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Coverage of sensitive (higher-risk) positions Score: 0 / 100
There is no legislation that shows that the Kuwaiti authorities recognise that more areas, especially sensitive ones like the ones in the arms procurement…
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Selection process Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because there is no recognition that certain positions may be more open to corruption than others. Virtually…
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Oversight Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because there is no recognition that certain positions may be more open to corruption than others. However,…
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Payroll, Promotions, Appointments, Rewards

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Q38 50/100

Is the number of civilian and military personnel accurately known and publicly available?

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Accuracy Score: 25 / 100
The number of military and civilian employees is not updated every year and it is not presented in a straightforward manner. The Government release…
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Transparency Score: 25 / 100
The Defence Ministry and the bodies that monitor its work do not provide a number for the civilian and military personnel to the public.…
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Ghost soldiers Score: 100 / 100
The Kuwaiti military is small and almost all Kuwaiti officials openly acknowledge this, and it has always been inactive, even during the country’s invasion…
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Q39 0/100

Are pay rates and allowances for civilian and military personnel openly published?

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Pay rates Score: 0 / 100
No information on pay rates for civilian or military staff is available. Some journalists and lawmakers gain access to them but the state does…
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Allowances Score: 0 / 100
No information on the allowances of civil or military personnel is made available to the public by the Government.
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Q40 67/100

Do personnel receive the correct pay on time, and is the system of payment well-established, routine, and published?

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Timeliness Score: 100 / 100
Personnel get paid on time, state auditors said (1, 2 and 3). No credible media reports suggest otherwise. This is unsurpising since Kuwait is…
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Accuracy Score: 100 / 100
Personnel receive the correct pay and get paid on time, state auditors said (1, 2 and 3). No credible media reports suggest otherwise. This…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
The payment system is not published.
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Q41 8/100

Is there an established, independent, transparent, and objective appointment system for the selection of military personnel at middle and top management level?

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Formal process Score: 0 / 100
There is no established appointment system for middle and top management that is transparent in the military, KNG or the police, and the civil…
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Scrutiny Score: 25 / 100
These bodies do not need parliamentary approvals for high level appointments, but the Parliament can voice concern or stop an appointment if it wants…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
There is not established formal process for appointments with objective job descriptions and standardised assessments, officials said (1, 2 and 3). The Defence Minister,…
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Q42 0/100

Are personnel promoted through an objective, meritocratic process? Such a process would include promotion boards outside of the command chain, strong formal appraisal processes, and independent oversight.

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Formal process Score: 0 / 100
There is no indication of a formal process but appointments and promotions are subject to the scrutiny of the SAB, auditors said (1, 2…
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Exceptions Score: 0 / 100
Article 72 of the police law and 73 of the military law allow the interior ministers, who already have the power to set the…
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Comprehensiveness Score: 0 / 100
Some information on postings and promotions may be published from time to time, but rarely before their effective dates and they do not receive…
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Frequency Score: 0 / 100
Some information on postings and promotions may be published from time to time, but rarely before their effective dates and they do not receive…
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Conscription and Recruitment

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Q43 50/100

Where compulsory conscription occurs, is there a policy of not accepting bribes for avoiding conscription? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?

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Policy Score: 50 / 100
Military laws do not explicitly tackle corruption or bribery when it comes to avoiding compulsory military service, but they have strong broader mechanism that…
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Sanctions Score: 100 / 100
The punishments for these aforementioned crimes include considerable time in prison, but do not warrant dismissal on their own (1). The maximum sentence is…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
It is unclear if sanctions are applied when bribery occurs. State auditors, journalists and activists did not know much about the matter (1, 2,…
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Q44 17/100

is there a policy of refusing bribes to gain preferred postings? Are there appropriate procedures in place to deal with such bribery, and are they applied?

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Policy Score: 0 / 100
There is no explicit policy against accepting bribes to gain preferred postings, but there is a policy of not accepting bribes for any reason,…
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Sanctions Score: 50 / 100
Sanctions for accepting any form of bribe includes sentences of up to seven years in prison, although the financial sanctions are quite minimal and…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
It is unclear if sanctions are applied when bribery occurs. State auditors, journalists and activists did not know much about the matter (1, 2,…
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Salary Chain

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Q45 0/100

Are chains of command separate from chains of payment?

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Score: 0 / 100
Chains of command are not separated from the chains of payment. Article 24 of the police law and 27 of the military law gives…
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Values and Standards

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Q46 25/100

Is there a Code of Conduct for all military personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?

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Code of conduct Score: 25 / 100
There is a Code of Conduct for all military personnel, but its content has never been made available to the public, state auditors said…
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Transparency Score: 75 / 100
The code is not available to the public, but it is available to all military personnel. The above laws, which contain many important rules…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
The code is generally not used since most corrupt practices are never stopped and those behind them are never punished, officials and activists said…
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Training Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence that training is provided to military personnel on the code of conduct.
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Q47 13/100

Is there a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel that includes, but is not limited to, guidance with respect to bribery, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest, and post-separation activities? Is there evidence that breaches of the Code of Conduct are effectively addressed?

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Code of conduct Score: 25 / 100
There is a Code of Conduct for all civilian personnel in the security agencies, but it is also unavailable to the public, state auditors…
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Transparency Score: 25 / 100
The code is not available to the public, but the aforementioned laws are available to the public online, but it remains unclear whether they…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
The code is generally not used since most corrupt practices are alive and well and those behind them are never punished, officials and activists…
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Training Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidance that training is provided to civilian personnel on the code of conduct.
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Q48 42/100

Does regular anti-corruption training take place for military and civilian personnel?

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Comprehensiveness Score: 25 / 100
The training that the security agencies receive from external auditors from SAB, ACA or the Finance Ministry tends to brief and attendance is not…
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Regularity Score: 25 / 100
Anti-corruption courses and workshops take place at least once a month from the ACA, but are not given necessarily at induction or upon entry…
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Coverage of personnel Score: 75 / 100
Training is delivered to high ranking military and civilian personnel, the aforementioned sources said (1, 2 and 3).
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Q49 17/100

Is there a policy to make public outcomes of the prosecution of defence services personnel for corrupt activities, and is there evidence of effective prosecutions in recent years?

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Policy Score: 50 / 100
The military have the formal power to make the outcomes of prosecutions public, according to article 24 of the military trials’ law (1). However,…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
The investigations into corruption are drawn out and they almost never result in successful prosecution for the security agencies to make public, officials and…
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Effectiveness Score: 0 / 100
There is a complete failure to prosecute but they do conduct investigations because of undue political influence, officials said (1, 2, 3 and 4).…
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Q50 0/100

Are there effective measures in place to discourage facilitation payments (which are illegal in almost all countries)?

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Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
Facilitation payments are not explicitly outlawed in any of the laws related to Kuwait’s security agencies, but the security agencies must simply account for…
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Enforcement Score: 0 / 100
State auditors, a police official and an activist close to the Government say the security agencies often do make facilitation payments and that it…
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Prevalence Score: 0 / 100
Auditors and an activist close to the Government say facilitation payments are effectively part of every arms procurement deal (1, 2, 3, 4 and…
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