Denmark’s highest court is expected to rule on whether the state’s classification of residents with “non-Western” backgrounds is covered by racial discrimination law. The appeal by residents who were evicted from Nøjsomhed-Sydvej in Helsingør, a town north of Copenhagen, could have far-reaching implications for others who have been forced from their homes by the controversial legislation formerly known as the “ghetto law.” The government now refers to the affected neighborhoods as “parallel societies.” The residents, who have been unsuccessful in other courts, argue that the evictions by the housing association were aimed at reducing the number of residents of “non-Western” origin to prevent the area from becoming a “ghetto” and therefore subject to the legislation. The government has previously argued that the classification has no relation to ethnicity. In December, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the legislation may be unlawful. The law requires housing associations to reduce non-profit housing by 40%, including by selling or demolishing properties or terminating tenants’ leases by 2030. It also includes demolishing apartment blocks in areas previously labeled by the government as “difficult ghettos” (now “transformation areas”), where at least half of residents are from a “non-Western” background. Other areas with similar socioeconomic conditions – such as high levels of unemployment or crime – are not subject to these measures. The policy has been widely criticized by human rights groups, including Amnesty International. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance published a report last month that said there had been “no positive change in the authorities’ approach to the use of the ‘non-Western’ category in various laws, policies and administrative practices, including in relation to ‘parallel societies’ legislation.” The UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination has called on Danish authorities to stop using the terms “Western” and “non-Western” in laws and policies, and expressed concern that the parallel societies law has a “discriminatory impact on ethnic minorities.” minorities.” Residents of the Mjølnerparken housing estate in central Copenhagen, who filed a lawsuit against the law in Denmark in 2020 arguing that using their ethnicity to decide where they can live was discriminatory and illegal, have yet to return their case to national courts since the December verdict. More than 1,000 people were forced to move because of the law. But legal experts said the Nøjsomhed-Sydvej case, which will be heard on Friday and Monday, could have implications for the Mjølnerparken case because it is likely to lead to an internal ruling on whether “non-Western” backgrounds are covered by the racial discrimination law. Susheela Math, legal director at the NGO Systemic Justice, said: “If the Supreme Court decides that ‘non-Western’ backgrounds are linked to ethnicity and racial discrimination law, it raises big questions for the Danish state. “It would force the Danish state to decide whether to abolish categorization altogether, which could have ramifications throughout society,” he said.[The government] “They will refer to ethnicity when it suits them, but inside a court, no matter what they present, they say that ‘non-Western’ origin has nothing to do with ethnicity and that they do not collect ethnic data,” Math said. It is understood that residents of Nøjsomhed-Sydvej would be allowed to return to their homes if they win the case, which is expected to be decided later this month. But it is likely to be much more difficult for residents of Mjølnerparken return to their homes if they win the case when it is heard because they have been sold. The Danish Ministry of Children, Senior Citizens and Housing has been contacted for comment.
