Reacting to today’s ruling by the European Court of Justice that the Danish law on parallel societies (known as the “ghetto law”) is incompatible with the EU’s directive on equal treatment, Dina Hashem, Senior Legal Advisor at Amnesty International Denmark, said:
“Today’s ruling is an important step in protecting human rights and respecting the equality of all people. The European Court of Justice found that the ghetto law could potentially lead to direct discrimination based on ethnicity and is therefore potentially in violation of EU law prohibiting discrimination. Now the Danish High Court has the final say.
The ghetto law must be changed so that it no longer discriminates
“The right to equal treatment regardless of ethnic origin is a fundamental principle that EU member states are obliged to respect in their national legislation. The ruling by the European Court of Justice clearly states, that national law cannot allow discrimination in either legislation or the legal system.”
“It is surprising that Danish politicians have ignored warnings about discrimination in the ghetto law for so long – while residents in areas covered by the ghetto law have been forcibly relocated and apartment blocks demolished. The law must be changed so that it no longer discriminates.”
Background
The Danish law on parallel societies targets residential areas with large numbers of residents of an ethnic minority.
Denmark has been widely criticized, including by Amnesty International, for violating the EU directive on equal treatment by discriminating based on ethnic origin.
The case judged by the Court of Justice of the European Union was raised by residents who had been evicted from social housing in Mjølnerparken in Copenhagen and in Schackenborgvænge in the city of Ringsted, based on criteria set out in the ghetto law.
