In a report published today, the Council of Europe Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) calls on the Danish authorities, as a matter of priority, to introduce a national action plan against racism, with a particular emphasis on preventing anti-Muslim racism and discrimination. The action plan should include actions in the areas of education, public awareness, promotion of counter speech and the training of relevant professionals, such as law enforcement officials and teachers. Securing staff with Muslim and other minority backgrounds in such professions should also be among the elements of this action plan.

The second recommendation for which ECRI requests priority implementation is that the Danish authorities should avoid forced evictions of families with a migration background in the neighbourhoods referred to as “parallel society”. While ECRI understands that the objective of such evictions is to achieve a more balanced composition between “non-westerners”, EU citizens and “native Danes” in those areas, the authorities should instead introduce positive incentives for all population groups concerned in order to diversify the inhabitants in these areas. Beyond the forced evictions, ECRI is concerned by the broader implications of the official “parallel society” policy, until recently referred to as “ghetto” policy, and related legislation. It classifies migrants into “westerners” and “non-westerners”, which risks causing stigmatisation of the latter in many policy areas.

In the report, ECRI welcomes several positive developments, such as the drawing-up of a national action plan against antisemitism (published in January 2022) and further action on LGBTI equality at legislative level. Other positive steps include free Danish language lessons and classes on labour market and social conditions for all immigrants.

However, despite the progress achieved, there are some areas of concern. As regards hate speech, ECRI regrets to note that Muslims in Denmark, including guest workers and persons who have been granted asylum, are increasingly depicted, including by politicians of different political parties, as a threat to Danish values and culture. In the worst manifestation of this trend, one political party has made it its main political platform to advocate the “cleansing” of Muslims and to threaten, scorn and insult Muslims and Black people in their own neighbourhoods, with almost no counter speech following from other politicians, and often under police protection provided in the name of freedom of expression. ECRI recommends that the authorities should develop a legal framework for cutting the funding of, and disbanding, racist organisations, including political parties.