Responding to racism in Denmark - Globule...

Responding to racism in Denmark

european network against racismeuropæiske netværk mod racisme

Leaflet Denmark EN.indd 3 08-05-2006 16:33:41

Denmark has been known for years as a model society. Unfortunate-ly, since the arrival of ethnic minorities, Danish society has dramati-cally changed from being tolerant to one of the most xenophobic in Europe.

Racism and discrimination – socioeconomic, cultural and religious - is widespread. Over 50% ethnic minorities are unemployed, often are given housing in deprived areas, mother tongue education has been abolished, young people are not allowed to visit entertainment places, police attitudes are unfriendly, and elderly minorities have no suitable facilities in homes for the elderly.

Most political parties support many restrictive laws. Family reunion, asylum and visa regulations are being tightened regularly. Conditions for establishing a family, obtaining permanent residence and getting citizenship are so strict that very few people can fulfill them.

Media coverage is very negative and often perpetuates existing preju-dices. Isalmophobia is prevalent in all sections of the society. It is next to impossible to get one’s complaint to be accepted by police or other authorities. Despite all these discrimination, extreme violence against minorities is minimal.

Bearing in mind the establishment of the present government in 2001, there are few options available to change the situation. The key chal-lenges for ENAR – Denmark is to organise anti-racist NGOs in a proactive unit, have channels of communication open to the friendly central and municipality authorities, consider helping victims of dis-crimination with litigation, take active part in public and media debates keep an eye on implementation of directives by the state and inform the world at large of what is happening in the country. Denmark does react when criticized from abroad.

OvERviEw Of RAcism iN thE NAtiONAl cONtExt


KEy ActivitiEs Of ENAR-DENmARk

ENAR – EuRopEAN NEtwORK AgAiNst RAcism

The Danish co-ordination was established in 1999. There are 23 organisations affiliated to it. These range from anti-racism, human rights, reli-gious rights, advisory bodies, cultural and social work, media monitoring, debate and seminars, refugee work, trade unions and ethnic media net-works as well as Roma rights.

The Danish board consists of between 7 and 9 members, from which a board member, a substi-tute and a second substitute are elected to repre-sent Denmark in the main ENAR board.

The main activities can be summed up as: Seminars, conferences and workshops, distribu-tion of information from Brussels to members and other interested parties, taking part in media de-bates, holding meetings with political parties, po-lice authorities, Institute for Human Rights, NGOs and relevant ministers when needed, speaking at public meetings and giving advice to victims of racism and providing them with appropriate con-tacts.

ENAR promotes the cause of anti-racism and equal treatment for ethnic minorities and non-EU nationals residing in the European Union.

ENAR is a network of European NGOs work-ing to combat racism in all EU Member States. The NGOs have formed National Coordina-tions (NCs), which constitute the membership of ENAR and include ethnic minorities, immigrants’ associations, information centres, advocacy groups, trade unions, faith based organisations and many others. Democratically elected rep-resentatives of each NC attend the Network’s meetings where they are consulted on policy and statutory issues. One of the representatives of each NC should belong to an ethnic minority.

ENAR is determined to fight racism, xenopho-bia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, to promote equality of treatment between EU citizens and third country nationals, and to link local/regional/national initiatives with European initiatives.


According to the Danish Statistics department (www.dst.dk), the to-tal population of Denmark on 1st January 2005 was 5.411.405. It in-cluded citizens, non-citizens, immigrants, refugees and their children. This figure however does not include asylum seekers. The groups vulnerable to racism can be easily identified because of their colour, ethnicity, language, and culture and to an increasing degree, because of their religious affiliation.

There are between 180,000 to 200,000 people belonging to diverse Muslim communities and nearly 6,500 of Jewish background, and smaller groups of Hindus, Buddhists, Roman Catholics and Sikhs. The number of Roma community varies from 3,000 to 10,000 depend-ing on who one asks. The largest ethnic minority groups according to their original home-lands and a size of over 10.000 persons in Denmark are; Turks, Iraqis, Lebanese, Bosnians, Pakistanis, Somalis, Ex-Yugoslavians, Iranians, Vietnamese, and Sri Lankans. Both in the public discourse and official classification, the word immi-grant is used to describe any person who comes to Denmark through family reunion, as a refugee or in very few cases to seek an employ-ment. There is no distinction between diverse groups. Danish State still considers the children of immigrants and refugees as second or third generation immigrants. They are also called immigrants and de-scendants.

The NGO communities do not subscribe to the idea of lumping peo-ple together. In our terminology, we make a clear distinction between those immigrants and refugees who have Danish citizenship and those who still keep their original homeland’s citizenship. Youth who are born and bred in Denmark are Danes with a minority background. People from Greenland and adoptive children from non-European countries are increasingly experiencing discrimination and racism.

Who is ExpERiENciNg RAcism


Danish laws against racism, discrimination and for equal treatment are primarily based on its obligation towards international conventions like the UN Human Rights Convention of 1948, the UNESCO Convention of 1960 concerning differential treatment in education, the UN Convention of 1965 on the fight against racial discrimi-nation, the UN Convention of 1979 on discrimination against women and the 1989 Convention on Children. Denmark is signatory to all these conventions but has not ratified the UN Convention on Migrants and their family rights of 1992.Denmark has also signed and incorporated into its le-gal system, the European Human Rights Convention in 1992. Article 14 of this convention forbids States to dis-criminate against its citizens. Both the Directives are now incorporated in Danish laws. Denmark has also established a Complaints Committee as stipulated by the race Directive.

The Danish constitution includes some articles, which can be termed as protectionary measures. Article 70 protects against barriers to enjoying the civil and political rights of religious and ethnic minorities. Penal Code article 266b forbids threatening, insulting and degrading public remarks and propaganda against a group of persons because of race, skin colour, nation-ality or ethnic origin, faith and sexual orientation. The law against differential treatment because of race was first introduced in Denmark in 1971, revised in 1987 and in 2000.

politicAl REAlity: NAtiONAl lAws AgAiNst RAcism


In the fight against racism and discrimination, civil society in Denmark was very active until 2001. Many solidarity organisations and nearly 500 ethnic NGOs played a very important part in informing and de-fending the human rights of immigrants and refugees. There were funds available which made it possible to provide advisory services. The removal of funding, the disbanding of Commission of Ethnic Mi-norities and the downgrading of the Centre for Human Rights has made it impossible to provide services to ethnic minority groups.

We can mention the few that do exist:

DRc – copenhagen (www.drcenter.dk) which has existed for over 10 years and is the leading institution in providing free legal advice, contact with authorities, media discussions, documen-tation and mapping of discrimination cases, advice and training seminars for the police.

committee for foreigners’ legal security is another NGO, which is located in Århus. It publishes 4 small pamphlets with legal advice, takes cases and gives telephone advice once a week.

RFu is an active legal advisory office in Randers, which has helped local ethnic minority groups in their cases regarding housing problems.

provincial Advocates is a new private legal service which takes cases of discrimination and gives advice to minority groups through a free process or against payment. The lawyers working there helpful to disadvantaged groups.

Red cross and Danish Refugee council provide limited legal help to asylum seekers and refugees.

Ethnic minority organisations which number over 500 also help their members in contacting the authorities, municipality offices, Complaints Committee and other channels of services. The same is done by organisations such as SOS Racism, Fair Play, Asylum Help and others.

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impoRtANcE oF thE civil sociEty iNFRAstRActuRE


Many anti-racist NGOs have not traditionally engaged in legal proc-esses, often this is for the simple reason that there was little law for them to refer to. However the adoption of the EU Race Directive (see section ‘EU and anti-racism’) and the development of national law, means that now more than ever litigation has the potential to lead to real change for those who are vulnerable to racism and discrimina-tion.

As anti-discrimination is a relatively new field of law, NGOs have a role to play in raising awareness regarding its potential. Consequently the strategic litigation has come to the fore as a useful advocacy tech-nique NGOs can both directly engage in strategic litigation and sup-port others to do so by gathering data, assessing victims and engag-ing in advocacy.

“Strategic or impact litigation uses the court system to attempt to create broad social change”

The primary focus of strategic litigation is law or policy change rather than redress for an individual, though these two objectives are not mutually exclusive. Strategic litigation intends to reach beyond an in-dividual case or victim, to create a context of enhanced protection for everyone who is vulnerable to discrimination. By changing law or set-ting precedents an individual case can have a ripple effect leading to change on a much broader level.

The concept of strategic litigation encompasses the selection of cas-es, case planning and management, as well as ensuring that favour-able outcomes are implemented.

Not every NGO has the mandate or skills to engage in litigation, nor will litigation necessarily be the right strategy in many cases. None-theless, it is essential for all anti-racism actors to recognise the impor-tance of strategic litigation as a tool for generating change.

stRAtEgic litigAtiON


victims of discrimination have very few services available to them:

the judicial system, where an individual alone or through a law-yer can start proceedings. It is an expensive procedure, which requires time, money, contacts and a good lawyer. Although the legal system is very neutral, there have been reports that ethnic minorities get tougher sentences. Some lawyers are also known not to make an effort to get their ethnic clients a fair deal. If a person is not financially sound, there is a free process, which a lawyer has to ask for.

Advisory services in some municipalities help people who want to file a complaint or get some information, in case of dis-crimination. In the municipalities, there are internal complaint of-fices, which are mostly used against the department injustices, like social help, housing or misuse of rules.

the Danish parliamentary (Folketinget) ombudsman has the authority to investigate any administrative action within the public sector, including public bodies at the local level. The Ombudsman may act on individual complaints or on his or her own initiative. The Office of the Ombudsman is not, however, de-signed in such a manner as to bring to light discrimination based on ethnicity.

the complaints committee for Ethnic Equal treatment was established at The Institute for Human Rights on grounds of Act No. 374 of 28 May 2003 on Ethnic Equal Treatment. On 1st July 2003, the law regarding ethnic equal treatment came in to effect in Denmark. The committee was given guidelines by the Minis-try and it proposed to the government, the establishment of a ”Board of Equal Treatment” under the Institute of Human Rights, with no special competence to take any individual cases.

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sERvicEs AvAilAblE tO thE victims Of DiscRimiNAtiON


National NGOs working on anti-racism are already seriously overbur-dened in their work to confront racism and discrimination. Why then should they also be concerned with what is going on in other Euro-pean countries, and in the institutions of the European Union itself?

Developing an understanding of racism in Europe is essential for two key reasons. Firstly, to promote learning and knowledge about what racism is and how to combat it and secondly to generate common tools across the European Union to combat racism. Experience over the last ten years has demonstrated that national governments can be convinced to take action at a European level, where they may not have been prepared to move forward alone.

Racism has a distinctly European dynamic. Europe’s colonial history underlines its role in fostering both historical and contemporary forms of racism; and the 20th century does not cast a positive light on the European legacy. Despite this long history Europe began to take rac-ism seriously relatively recently. Europe has a responsibility both to the people living within its borders, as well as internationally to take a leading role in promoting a vision of a world free from racism.

In 1997, Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty gave the European Union a legal base on which to develop ‘appropriate measures to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation’. Using these powers the Euro-pean Union adopted the Race Equality Directive in June 2000 (and later that year the Employment Equality Directive).

While the Race Directive was due to be fully implemented by July 2003, at the beginning of 2006 some Member States have failed to implement it. This reality raises questions about the continuing com-mitment of EU Member States to combat racism and discrimination. However the Directive does have direct effect, which means that in-dividuals can assert it before national courts, even where it has not been implemented.

Why A EuRopEAN pERspEctivE is cRuciAl


The Race Directive gives protection against discrimination in employment and access to a range of good and services, including social protection, health, social security and education. It puts forward a number of impor-tant definitions including: direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. Other significant aspects of the Directive are that it al-lows for positive action measures, the sharing of the burden of proof, and the establishment of equality bodies.

The principles enshrined in the Race Directive need to become core ele-ments of anti-discrimination law and practice across the European Union. Strategic litigation is a tool to ensure that this happens. To this end, it expressly allows for NGOs to engage in proceedings in support of or on behalf of victims.

While Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty provided the context for de-velopments in the field of anti-discrimination, Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union included reference to preventing and combating racism. While the European Commission proposed a Framework Decision against racism and xenophobia (racism as a crime) in 2001, developments in this policy area have been disappointing; the Council has failed to adopt the Framework Decision. In addition the European Union has competence in other policy areas that either directly or indirectly impact on the fight against racism, including: social inclusion, migration and asylum, and education.

The European Union is also involved in a range of other activities, includ-ing awareness raising (through the ‘For Diversity. Against Discrimination’ campaign) and funding of anti-racism projects. In 1997 the EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) was established. While the Centre is likely to be expanded to become a Fundamental Rights Agency in 2007, it will continue to focus on the problem of racism in Europe.


kEy liNks AND souRcEs oF FuRthER iNFoRmAtioN At EuRopEAN lEvEl

DRC – Documentation and Advisory Centre: www.drcenter.dkInstitute for Human rights: www.humanrights.dkCentre for Equal Treatment of Disabled: www.clh.dkFederation of Organisations Concerning Invalid: www.handicap.dkIslamic Christian Centre: www.ikstudiecenter.dkCouncil of Women: www.kvinderaadet.dkNational Organisation of Gay and Lesbians: www.lbl.dkPeople to People Solidarity Organisation: www.ms.dkCouncil of Ethnic Minorities: www.etniskeminoriteter.dkElderly Movement: www.aeldremobilisering.dkDanish Alternative Forces: www.modkraft.dkHumanistic Forum: www.humanisme.dkMinistry of Integration: www.inm.dkNew Danes: www.nydansker.dkInformation about Denmark: www.danmark.dkAmnesty International : www.amnesty.dkDemos: www.demos.dkSOS mod Racisme: www.sosmodracisme.dkJustice Foundation: www.retsforbundet.dkMinority Community Center: www.nam.dk

kEy liNks AND souRcEs oF FuRthER iNfORmAtiON At NAtiONAl lEvEl

EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia: www.eumc.eu.int European Commission - anti-discrimination and relations with civil society: www.europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/fundamental_rights/index_en.htm European Network Against Racism (ENAR): www.enar-eu.org European Roma Information Office: www.erionet.org European Union: www.europa.eu.int ‘For Diversity. Against Discrimination’: www.stop-discrimination.info Strategic Litigation of Race Discrimination in Europe: from Principles to Practice: www.migpolgroup.com/documents/2498.html Strategies on Litigation Tackling Discrimination in EU Countries: www.solid-eu.org


ENAR – DenmarkNørre Allé 7 2200 København N, DanmarkTlf og Fax: 0045 38881977 Mobil: + 45 40154771www.enar.dk

This leaflet was prepared on behalf of ENAR in Denmark and by the ENAR European secretariat. Download this leaflet: http://www.enar-eu.org/en/publication/national_leaflets/

ENAR43, Rue de la Charité • B-1210 Brussels • BelgiumTel: +32 (0)2 229 3570 • Fax: +32 (0)2 229 3575E-mail: [email protected] • Web: www.enar-eu.org

This leaflet is funded by the European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs.


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