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Kuwait is set to become the first country in the world to require all its citizens, visitors and expatriates to provide DNA samples for the government’s database, according to a report.
In July 2015, the Kuwaiti government passed the DNA testing law, which is set to go into effect later this year, according to the Kuwait Times. The DNA samples of at least 3.3 million people—gotten from saliva or few drops of blood—will be stored in a lab at the General Department of Criminal Evidence in Dajeej, a suburb about 12 miles south of Kuwait City.
The bill was passed with national security in mind, says a senior official, who spoke anonymously to the Kuwait Times. Having DNA samples of everyone in the country, officials say, will facilitate in solving crime and terrorism cases. Citing the United Kingdom and the United States as models for DNA databases, despite the fact that neither country has a law demanding samples from every citizen, Kuwait says that it is now be “at par” with those countries.
Despite assuring the Kuwait Times that anyone who makes the...