The ghetto list is also violating human rights rules that fall under the European convention, the rights to non-discrimination, adequate housing and equality. AR. Denmarks Ghetto Package Increases the Sufferings Of Vulnerable Minorities. 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. The 22 proposals in the package, now known as L38, were passed in November 2018, and so far the following laws and policies from the package have been adopted: Powers for the police to define geographical areas as increased punishment zones in which punishments for certain crimes (eg, violence, vandalism, burglary, threatening behaviour, arson, drug offences, possession of weapons) can be doubled; A mandatory pre-school programme, making 25 hours a week of day care obligatory for children from the age of one who live in vulnerable or ghetto areas. The housing association must comply with the plan or risk enforcement action being taken against it by the Ministry. And that is why, as far as we concerned, it is more accurate to describe what is happening in Denmark today as state racism.. Individual circumstances must be taken into account in assessing whether the very weighty reasons required to justify an interference exist. 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[12] It has also been recognised that the loss of a family home places the family concerned in a particularly vulnerable position. [10] The rights to respect for private and family life and home under Article 7 of the Charter are equivalent to those under Article 8 of the ECHR. Your email address will not be published. Michela Pugliese migration researched at the Euro-Med monitor said Denmarks Ghetto laws are a basic exercise of scapegoating, populism and political expediency. It is a picture not recognised by those who live there! 63-65 and McCann v. United Kingdom ECtHR, Judgment of 13 May 2008, para. [2] See, for example, Michala Bendixen, Denmarks anti-ghetto laws are a betrayal of our tolerant values, published in the Guardian on 10 July 2018, on other measures and the country becoming explicitly Islamophobic.. Shamefully, the Social Democrats have gone along with the attack on the not-for-profit housing sector. 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. As noted by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, it has laid bare the pre-existing and vast structural inequalities in housing systems all over the world, characterized globally by rising housing unaffordability and the lack of available public housing stock. D enmark has just passed a law called the "ghetto deal". This way the Danish government will be able to give positive gestures for welcoming and embracing the perception of migrants in the country. Common family housing is a form of non-profit housing run by housing associations that are intended to be self-governing and independent. Mjolnerparken, a so-called "hard ghetto", is a four-block housing complex situated in Norrebro, a lively, multicultural and gentrifying district in Copenhagen. Racism is being used to promote market interests. When a state introduces discriminatory principles into law, wouldnt this be more accurately described as state racism? The lawsuit, which alleges discrimination and seeks to invalidate a section of the government's so-called "ghetto package," comes as the country begins to grapple with broader questions about racism in light of global focus on the issue. Elisabet Kass and Ana-Maria Cioraru, Kompasset Kirkens Korshr. This stigmatisation started in 2002. Denmark's "Ghetto Package", as the ACFC puts it, "sends a message that may have a counter-effect on their feeling of belonging and forming an integral part of Danish society." It also . 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. By DAVID KEYTON May 27, 2020. The approved plan does not pursue a legitimate aim and is not necessary or proportionate. Marie Northroup of Common Resistance thinks so. There are currently 15 "hard ghettos" in Denmark. Susheela MathLegal Officer, Open Society Justice InitiativeThousands of people across Denmark face eviction from their homes under the country's "Ghetto Package," which seeks to "eradicate" "ghettos" by 2030. After examining the standards of Ghetto list, in the recent reports, Euro-Med monitor concluded it as the Disguised racism. The stated aim of the ghetto package is to better integrate Denmark, where the number of non-Western immigrants and descendants from. Building on Statistics Denmarks discriminatory categorisation, the government went on to introduce the concept of the parallel society. 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. Your email address will not be published. Municipalities may terminate child benefit if parents refuse to comply; * A ban on the wearing of full-face veil covering (popularly known as the burqa ban); * The April 2017 Punishment of Homeless People law (popularly known as The Roma Law), making it a criminal offence to sleep outdoors in a camp that is considered unsettling by the neighbourhood. Thousands of people across Denmark face eviction from their homes under the country's "Ghetto Package," which seeks to "eradicate" "ghettos" by 2030. Among the suggestions were funds of 12 billion DKK to have some districts demolished and others redeveloped. 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 Would love your thoughts, please comment. When a state introduces discriminatory principles into law, wouldnt this be more accurately described as state racism? 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. Since 2010, the Danish government has used "ghetto lists" to identify socially dangerous places for the country. Denmark Ghetto Package is a strong tool used for provoking discrimination and inducement. Denmark Ghetto Package is a strong tool used for provoking discrimination and inducement. 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! The EC decided to launch a short-term rental initiative. Article 14 of the ECHR: the residents have demonstrated a difference of treatment (based inter alia on their status as residents of a tough ghetto) that does not pursue a legitimate aim and is not proportionate. How Denmark's 'ghetto list' is ripping apart migrant communities (The Guardian, March 11 2020) But does the description of the ghetto package as discriminatory go far enough? The previous governments ghetto package was aimed at getting rid of ghettos by 2030. Denmark's 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 . The most significant development to date has come through the work of a number of NGOs, which formed a coalition and jointly authored ashadow report to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) alleging discrimination. But perhaps this is not surprising given that the Social Democrats, when in opposition, willingly voted for the ghetto package, an approach that chimed with its own firm approach towards immigrants. Facts: Gender Disparity is widespread in Denmark, Denmark Leaves No Stone Unturned To Make Refugees Unsafe, Denmarks Far-Right Policies Take a Hard Line on Migrants, Danish Discrimination Against Foreigners Is Soaring. The case is an action for declaratory relief in Denmarks Eastern High Court, challenging the Ministrys approval of a Ghetto Package development plan. 51 and 52 and Council of Europe,Fifth Opinion on Denmark issued by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, ACFC/OP/V(2019)003, 29 January 2020 (ACFC), para. The 22 proposals in the package, now known as L38, were passed in November 2018, and so far the following laws and policies from the package have been adopted: * Amendments to the Non-profit Housing Act, Non-profit Housing Rent Act and the Rent Act; * Powers for the police to define geographical areas as increased punishment zones in which punishments for certain crimes (eg, violence, vandalism, burglary, threatening behaviour, arson, drug offences, possession of weapons) can be doubled; * A mandatory pre-school programme, making 25 hours a week of day care obligatory for children from the age of one who live in vulnerable or ghetto areas. She further added, Instead of addressing the root causes that lead to under education, unemployment and poverty among ethnic and national minorities, the Danish government seem to be busy to target already unprotected people for their social and economic benefit to find strength in political structure. 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 removal of residents with non-Western background is not a legitimate aim. Share On. This idea came on to the surface when Denmarks interior and housing minister disclose plans which demand to reduce the number of individuals of non-western background in Ghetto areas to less than 30% by 2030. After Victory, What Will Lulas Foreign Policy Look Like? 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." For the attempt to drastically reduce the number of housing associations could not have happened without mobilising fears about their non-western residents. The actions prominently include double punishment, eviction and over-policing. But has a new government adopted a different approach to immigration, integration and the ghetto package? The country's government introduced "ghetto" regulations in 2018 to further restrict people living in different districts based on their ethnic and cultural . 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. Indirect discrimination: the approved plan puts racial/ethnic minorities at a particular disadvantage and is not objectively justified by a legitimate aim. Since then, all immigration statistics produced by DST utilise this term. 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. For instance, the "Ghetto package" enables the Danish police to selectively crackdown on areas designated as "Ghettoes" and "tough Ghettoes." Though theconclusions to its sixth periodic review, released in October 2019 by the CESCR, are written in the usual cautious language of UN reports, they do urge the government to adopt a rights-based approach in efforts to address residential segregation. 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. And it seems the United Nations has heard them. 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. 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. 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. Subsequently, the Danish government seems to assume that merely ridding underprivileged neighborhoods of their non-white inhabitants would solve the problem. Parallel society and ghetto as stigmatising notions. (Philip Davali / AP). Required fields are marked *. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Marie Northroup of Common Resistance thinks so. As well as replying to the public consultat https://www.justiceinitiative.org/litigation/tenants-of-mjolnerparken-v-danish-ministry-of-transport-and-housing, UN Special Rapporteur finds that millions are failing to access social protection entitlements, Overview of Housing Exclusion in the EU: International standards of evictions, Respecting International Standards on Home Evictions, Danish Supreme Court upholds verdict that criminalises poverty, European Campaign for the Recognition of the Rights of Homeless People, Sixth Overview of Housing Exclusion - Rent regulation in the European Union. This awful word is used in all seriousness to describe 25 residential areas across Denmark, where a significant proportion of the. The proposed "remedies" in Denmark's Ghetto rules also contributed markedly to sustaining and fueling racial prejudice and intolerance against vulnerable minorities. 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's "Ghetto Package", as the ACFC puts it, "sends a message that may have a counter-effect on their feeling of belonging and forming an integral part of Danish society." It also urged that Denmark "reconsider the concepts of 'immigrants and descendants of immigrants of Western origin' and 'immigrants and descendants of . [2] The UN Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC) have already raised serious discrimination concerns in relation to the use of non-Western background and called for remedial action. 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. The residents legitimate interests, including their housing rights under the Charter, are unduly prejudiced. 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. A ruling from that Court could be relevant not just in Denmark but across Europe where cases of area-based discrimination including in the realm of housing are growing. [14] See for example Collective Complaint 191/2020 FEANTSA v Czech Republic, [15] Tenants of Mjlnerparken v. Danish Ministry of Transport and Housing: https://www.justiceinitiative.org/litigation/tenants-of-mjolnerparken-v-danish-ministry-of-transport-and-housing, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. John Graversgaard is Danish political activist, Originally published in Institute of Race Relations, SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWS LETTER, Countercurrents is answerable only to our readers. Denmark's "Ghetto Package", as the ACFC puts it, "sends a message that may have a counter-effect on their feeling of belonging and forming an integral part of Danish society." It also urged that Denmark "reconsider the concepts of 'immigrants and descendants of immigrants of Western origin' and 'immigrants and descendants of . Since then, all immigration statistics produced by DST utilise this term. 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. 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. The legislation, adopted in 2018 for the .
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