The most significant development to date has come through the work of a number of NGOs, which formed a coalition and jointly authored a shadow report to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) alleging discrimination. It also draws on Islamophobia, with the burqa ban deemed another example of direct discrimination (on the basis of religion), while the mandatory day care package, in addition to being discriminatory, is an attempt at forced assimilation. Denmarks Ghetto Package Increases the Sufferings Of Vulnerable Minorities. Tough ghettos are areas which have met the States criteria of ghetto for four or more years.[1]. These are merely feckless punitive policies made to strengthen the political structure. The previous governments ghetto package was aimed at getting rid of ghettos by 2030. From start to finish, the ghetto package is an example of direct discrimination, they argue, because its entire edifice rests on the targeting of areas as ghettos based on the number of non-western people residing there, a conceptual starting point which stigmatises already marginalised, racialised minorities. The Council of the Danish Bar & Law Society and the think-tank Justitia have joined the fray, agreeing that the double punishment laws are discriminatory and also pointing out that the laws, when combined with what is referred to as the paradigm shift in refugee policy,[1] will lead to arbitrary deportations of foreign nationals, including those born in Denmark. Denmark Ghetto Package is a strong tool used for provoking discrimination and inducement. Indirect discrimination: the approved plan puts racial/ethnic minorities at a particular disadvantage and is not objectively justified by a legitimate aim. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has tacitly acknowledged the validity of the criticisms of the NGOs (SOS Racisme Denmark, the Centre for Danish-Muslim Relations, Women in Dialogue, Refugees Welcome, Almen Modstand [Common Resistance], DEMOS and ENAR Denmark), by making a number of recommendations challenging the numerous retrogressive measures introduced by the Danish government and reminding the Danish state of its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Still, Mehmood and his wife moved in and raised three daughters, surrounded by people from dozens of countries, with Danish as their common language. 44. Today, this negative concept of the parallel society has come to stigmatise those who live in the so-called ghettos as living within ethnic cultural or cultural-religious homogeneous segregated enclaves where there is almost complete everyday civil, societal and economic segregation. Since 2010, the Danish government has used "ghetto lists" to identify socially dangerous places for the country. It is a picture not recognised by those who live there! Euro-Med Monitor calls on the Danish government to halt all discriminatory and disproportionate punitive measures against residents of areas listed as Ghettoes or tough Ghettoes; Introduce incentives to encourage the integration of migrants and their offspring, rather than their forced assimilation; Tackle the scarcity of affordable housing as well as discrimination in housing and the labor market against racial, ethnic or national minorities; Foster a more positive, welcoming and embracing perception of migrants and refugees in the country. The stated aim of the ghetto package is to better integrate Denmark, where the number of non-Western immigrants and descendants from countries including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan has grown from about 1% of the population in 1980 to almost 9% today. Direct discrimination: the residents are being treated less favourably than those in comparable areas, on the basis of racial or ethnic origin as encompassed within the term non-Western. For DST, western includes not just the 28 members of the EU countries and associated countries (the EEA), but also four Anglo-Saxon countries the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand which, in geographical terms, are not located in the west, as the term would suggest, but merely share the characteristic of having majority white populations. Since 2010, The Danish Governments ministry of transport, building and housing has been consistently maintaining and improving an annual list of Ghettoes in the country. Since then, all immigration statistics produced by DST utilise this term. The State distinguishes "ghettos" from other areas with the same socio-economic factors on the basis that the majority of residents are of what it calls "non-Western The right to protection of property: The approval of the development plan unduly interferes with the residents rights to peacefully enjoy their property under their permanent leases. The Danish government seems to believe that the cleansing of underprivileged neighbourhoods of their non-white residents can be a solid solution to this problem. What the NGOs report set out to do was to methodically unpick the discrimination, direct or indirect, in the laws outlined above to demonstrate beyond doubt their discriminatory aspect. The residents are stigmatised and under threat of eviction. [11] The case includes the following arguments under these frameworks. This stigmatisation started in 2002 when Statistics Denmark (DST) introduced the term. These heavily punitive policies include evicting and displacing families from tough Ghettoes; pressing Ghetto parents to send their children from the age of 1 to mandatory daycares to receive instructions in Danish values and language; doubling the punishment of misdemeanors and felonies in Ghetto areas. Geneva - Denmarks Ghetto Package is a textbook recipe for discrimination, incitement and unnecessary and counterproductive punitive policies emanating from political expediency rather than sound policymaking, said Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a statement today. Learn how your comment data is processed. Euro-Med Human right monitor released a statement today in which they shed light on the role of the Ghettoes package in society. This is a very real threat, as local municipalities have been sending letters to Danish citizens with dual nationality informing them that if they give up their Danish citizenship and move to another country they will be rewarded. But has a new government adopted a different approach to immigration, integration and the ghetto package? Michela Pugliese migration researched at the Euro-Med monitor said Denmarks Ghetto laws are a basic exercise of scapegoating, populism and political expediency. Denmark Ghetto Package is a strong tool used for provoking discrimination and inducement. [4] In addition, the laws run counter to the purported justifications for the Ghetto Package, including the preservation of Danish values as well as better social integration and socio-economic conditions. Apex Court Nod for EWS Reservation: A Measure of Preferential Treatment? Support honest journalism because we have no PLANET B. But Danish NGOs and anti-racist organisations are fighting back. Shamefully, the Social Democrats have gone along with the attack on the not-for-profit housing sector. The case is an action for declaratory relief in Denmarks Eastern High Court, challenging the Ministrys approval of a Ghetto Package development plan. The countries included within the definition of Western all have majority white populations. If statistics on non-western immigrants and their descendants are an essential part of categorising an area as a ghetto, then we can see how state laws are shaped from the start by racialisation a process that is then legitimised and normalised within the ghetto policy. And it seems the United Nations has heard them. Denmarks Ghetto package assumes that the sheer presence of clusters of populations of non-white ethnicities is the root cause of social problems in those areas, such as unemployment, low educational attainment, poverty or crimes. [12] Kuionov, paras. The Danish government must immediately and unconditionally cease all measures taken against areas designated as "Ghettoes," including evictions, compulsory daycare, double punishment and over-policing. Sadly, the answer is a very definite no. The coercive and punitive aspects of L38 are all recognised, with an appeal to the Danish government to replace sanctions with meaningful consultation with the concerned communities and to give communities the support they need to facilitate integration. Denmark's 'Ghetto Laws' Show How the Welfare State Breeds Conflict by Dylan Moore | Jul 20, 2018 Danish Parliament recently passed a majority of controversial laws in a 22-proposal bundle known locally as the "ghetto package." Building on Statistics Denmarks discriminatory categorisation, the government went on to introduce the concept of the parallel society. The Ghetto Package which was passed the following year is a political plan for "One Denmark without parallel societies - no ghettos by 2030." It is aimed at eradicating all ghettoes in Denmark by year 2030. But what does it mean? The previous centre-right government led by the Venstre party (Liberals) was replaced in June 2019 by a centre-left minority government, led by the Social Democratic Party. E/C.12/DNK/CO/6, 12 November 2019 (CESCR), paras. Euro-Med monitor requested the Danish government to stop all discriminatory and punitive actions against the residents of Ghettoes areas. Required fields are marked *. In October 2020, three UN Special Rapporteurs joined forces on an emergency application to Denmark, asking for the sale to be halted pending the litigation.[9]. The previous centre-right government led by the Venstre party (Liberals) was replaced in June 2019 by a centre-left minority government, led by the Social Democratic Party. Geneva - Denmark's Ghetto Package is a textbook recipe for discrimination, incitement and unnecessary and counterproductive punitive policies emanating from political expediency rather than sound policymaking, said Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a statement today. media@opensocietyfoundations.org. [12] It has also been recognised that the loss of a family home places the family concerned in a particularly vulnerable position. Stockholm (AP) A group of Copenhagen residents sued the Danish government Wednesday over legislation that authorized dismantling neighborhoods designated as "ghettos," arguing that the measures discriminate on the basis of ethnicity and should be overturned in court. Common family housing is a form of non-profit housing run by housing associations that are intended to be self-governing and independent. [11] This in turn impedes and shrinks any potential for sound policymaking as it entraps Danish political parties in a cycle of rhetorical competitiveness centered around who could be tougher on Ghettoes., Denmarks Ghetto laws are a basic exercise of scapegoating, populism and political expediency, said Michela Pugliese, Migration Researcher at the Euro-Med Monitor, Instead of tackling the underlying root causes that lead to poverty, undereducation or unemployment amongst racial, ethnic and national minorities, the Danish government chooses to target and blame already vulnerable people for their social and economic disadvantages to score some political points.. [10] The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has made it clear that the right to accommodation is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 7 of the Charter. Throughout the NGOs submission, they had argued that it was not just thediscriminatory outcomesthat should be under the spotlight, but the us (westerners) and them (non-westerners) framework which makes use of concepts that, even if not overtly racist, institutionalise discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity and nationality into the very structures of the state. [11] CJEU Case C-34-13, Kuionov v. SMART Capital, a.s., Judgment of 10 September 2014, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2189 (Kuionov), para. The proposed "remedies" in Denmark's Ghetto rules also contributed markedly to sustaining and fueling racial prejudice and intolerance against vulnerable minorities. 65. Marie Northroup of Common Resistance thinks so. Amendments to the Non-profit Housing Act, Non-profit Housing Rent Act and the Rent Act; The share of residents aged between 18 and 64 years with no connection to the job market or the educational system exceeds 40 percent, averaged over the last two years; The share of residents convicted of violations of the Criminal Code, the Weapons Act, or the Controlled Substances Act exceeds three times the national norm, averaged over the last two years; The share of residents aged between 30 and 59 years with only lower secondary education exceeds 60 percent; The average gross income for taxpayers aged between 15 and 64 years in the area, excluding students, is less than 55 percent of the average gross income for the same group in the region. According to the University of Copenhagen, citing Statistics Denmark figures from 2020, only 5.3% of migrants from "non-Western countries" live in so-called ghetto areas. With regard to integration, as noted by the ACFC, Denmarks inclusion of descendants sends a message that may have a counter-effect on their feeling of belonging and forming an integral part of Danish society.[5] This is supported by CESCRs unambiguous conclusion that the categorisation of ghettos results not only in discrimination based on ethnic origin and nationality but also in further marginalization.[6]. Whether in terms of its flawed and discriminatory criteria that disproportionately target individuals of non-European ethnicities; its heavily punitive and counter-productive policies; or its very stigmatizing name, the Ghetto list contributes to fueling xenophobia, racial prejudice and intolerance against vulnerable minorities. Euro med monitor made authorities aware that the Ghetto list with a set of punitive policies dispersing fear, distrust among the targeted groups. The stated aim of the ghetto package is to better integrate Denmark, where the number of non-Western immigrants and descendants from countries including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan has grown from . +1 212-548-0378. But does the description of the ghetto package as discriminatory go far enough? Euro-Med Monitor cautions that the Ghetto list and associated policies sow fear, insecurity, mistrust and resistance amongst the groups it targets, and stand in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law vis--vis the rights to non-discrimination, equality and adequate housing, as well as the right of equality before the law and equal treatment before tribunals. Denmark has a big not-for-profit housing sector run by housing associations, which has been a thorn in the side of neoliberals who believe the market should take over this sector. These are merely feckless punitive policies made to strengthen the political structure. From start to finish, the ghetto package is an example of direct discrimination, they argue, because its entire edifice rests on the targeting of areas as ghettos based on the number of non-western people residing there, a conceptual starting point which stigmatises already marginalised, racialised minorities. In reality, however, the Ghetto framing of the issue leads to stigmatizing and ostracizing targeted minorities, as well as fueling racial prejudice and intolerance towards them. More information in the Coalition Shadow Report. Your email address will not be published. Yet it has become an essential political exchange in Denmark. Denmarks Ghetto package believes that the abundant existence of the non-White ethnicities is the main reason for all the social problems in such areas. The legislation, adopted in 2018 for the . Thus non-western countries, it would seem, amount to the rest of the world so a total of 156 countries with very different characteristics are lumped into one overarching category, whose only common characteristic seems to be that the majority of the population in these countries are not white! shadow report to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Legal Officer, Open Society Justice Initiative. By DAVID KEYTON May 27, 2020. A central concept of the ghetto package is the labelling of areas as vulnerable or ghettos on the basis of the number of non-western people there. Subsequently, the Danish government seems to assume that merely ridding underprivileged neighborhoods of their non-white inhabitants would solve the problem. Geneva - Denmark's Ghetto Package is a textbook recipe for discrimination, incitement and unnecessary and counterproductive punitive policies emanating from political expediency rather than sound policymaking, said Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a statement today. Share On. Your email address will not be published. The approach of the local municipality is under scrutiny in Aarhus, where a complaint has been submitted to the Ombudsman alleging discrimination in housing allocation in the not-for-profit sector. Is Hygge Racism Behind Rise of Hate Crimes in Denmark? (Philip Davali / AP). Statistics show that most of those prosecuted under the law are from Romania, Albania and Bulgaria. There is not sufficiently weighty general interest in the interference. A central concept of the 'ghetto package' is the labelling of areas as 'vulnerable' or 'ghettos' on the basis of the number of 'non-western' people there. 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