Why is Denmark separating ‘Western’ and ‘non-Western’ citizens?
Summary
Seven families in Helsingør are challenging in Denmark’s Supreme Court the termination of their leases under a law that targets certain social housing areas based partly on residents’ origins. The law requires some areas to reduce public family housing, while critics say its “non-Western” classification can discriminate against ethnic groups.Key Facts
- The families’ leases were terminated in 2022 under a 2018 law formerly known as the “ghetto law.”
- Denmark defines “non-Western” by a list of countries and territories, and the label also applies to some people born in Denmark.
- The law identifies social housing areas with at least 1,000 residents and more than 50 percent “non-Western” residents as “parallel societies” if they also meet at least two of four social or economic criteria.
- Areas that remain on the list for five years become “transformation areas.”
- Transformation areas must reduce public family housing to 40 percent by 2030 through measures such as sales, demolition, or conversion.
- Tenants’ associations estimate that about 11,000 people across Denmark will have to leave their homes by 2030.
- In Helsingør, housing provider Boliggården announced plans to renovate 96 apartments at the Nøjsomhed estate and later ended tenants’ leases.
- The European Union’s Court of Justice has said the law may be discriminatory; Danish judges will decide whether it violated Denmark’s laws against ethnic discrimination.
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