Denmark urged by Council of Europe to rethink 'parallel societies' policy

In a new country report, the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has called on Denmark to implement a national action plan against racism. 

The Commission also said the Danish government should amend its existing legislation on parallel societies.

The Council of Europe’s remit includes monitoring whether member states comply with human rights. It is not related to the EU.

The ECRI issues recommendations to member states, when it releases country reports, as is the case with the new Denmark report, released on Tuesday.

In the report, the ECRI recommends that Danish authorities introduce a national action plan against racism with a particular emphasis on preventing anti-Muslim racism and discrimination.

The action plan should include "steps towards securing a proportion of staff from Muslim and other minority backgrounds in such professions as law enforcement officials and teachers", an ECRI press release stated.

The Council of Europe acknowledged Danish plans for an action plan against racism but said it was yet to be implemented.

“While welcoming the preparations for such an action plan, including the budget allocation, ECRI concludes that the document has not been adopted yet and, therefore, the recommendation has not been implemented,” it said.

The ECRI also recommended the Danish government reconsider its existing policies on what it terms parallel societies, which revolve around a which was initially termed the "ghetto law" when it was passed in 2018.

READ ALSO: Where are the new 'parallel societies' in Denmark’s cities?

Under the law, underprivileged areas with a high “non-Western” population must implement redevelopment plans if they fulfil a number of social criteria. The redevelopments can mean some residents are forced to move from subsidised rental housing.

The law has been brought before the EU Court of Justice because some residents in marginalised areas believe it constitutes discrimination based on ethnicity.

That interpretation is supported by ECRI, it said in the new report.

“While the Danish authorities’ position is that no eviction of tenants takes place based on their ethnic or national origin from non-Western countries, ECRI nevertheless notes that the aim of the Danish legislation and related policy remains to reduce the share of ‘non-westerners’ in ‘parallel societies’,” it said.

ECRI said Danish authorities should instead introduce "positive incentives" to encourage people to relocate, thereby avoiding forced evictions.