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TITLE: DENMARK HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995
DENMARK
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary
democratic rule. Queen Margrethe II is Head of State. The
Cabinet, accountable to the unicameral Parliament (Folketing),
leads the Government. A minority, three-party coalition took
office in September following national elections.
The national police force is fully controlled by and responsive
to civilian authorities.
The advanced industrial economy is essentially market-based,
with public ownership limited largely to utilities and public
transportation. The Government continues to seek ways to
reduce the public sector's share of the economy.
Deeply rooted democratic principles, an egalitarian tradition,
and a free press have resulted in high official as well as
societal respect for human rights. There are well-established
legal channels for seeking redress for mistreatment by any
national authority.
Amnesty International (AI) issued a controversial report in
June citing allegations that police in Copenhagen used
excessive force in a 1992-93 crackdown on lawbreakers and
during riots in May 1993. The Government suspended three
policemen for firing into a crowd during those riots.
Indicative of the Government's commitment to promoting human
rights internationally were its actions on behalf of the U.N.
Tribunal on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia in bringing to
justice an accused war criminal from Bosnia. After
consultations with the chief prosecutor, the Government decided
to bring Rafic Saric to trial in Denmark. In a landmark
decision, in November a Danish court found him guilty of
committing war crimes while he worked with Bosnian Croats in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The court sentenced Saric to 8 years
in jail for his assaults against inmates at the Dretelj camp.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of such killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no known abductions or disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Such practices are prohibited by law. Torture does not occur,
and allegations of physical mistreatment are rare. However,
since 1988 AI has complained that the police occasionally use
excessive force, and AI has never been fully satisfied by the
Government's responses to those complaints.
In June AI published "Danish Police Ill Treatment," a
controversial sweeping criticism focusing primarily on two
episodes. In one, the police on May 18-19, 1993, apparently
shot indiscriminately at demonstrators in Copenhagen who were
protesting the outcome of a national plebiscite in which the
voters accepted the Maastricht Treaty. When demonstrators
hurled paving stones at the police, some police fired into the
crowd, wounding at least 11 people; in 1994 the police
leadership suspended three police on a charge that these
firings violated regulations on the use of firearms.
Also under focus in the AI report was the police's conduct of a
campaign in 1992-93 against drug-dealers and other lawbreakers
in a section of Copenhagen. Police detained or arrested
hundreds of people, and immobilized some detainees by using a
"leg-lock," a potentially very painful constraint. Immediately
after AI's report, the police ceased using the leg-lock.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
No person may be deprived of personal liberty without due
process of law. Those arrested must appear before a judge
within 24 hours. A judge may order pretrial detention, and may
require the detainee to be in isolation (for renewable 4-week
periods after a hearing before a judge), for a period up to the
length of the prison sentence for the charged crime. Pretrial
detention usually lasts from a few weeks to a few months. As
of October, 633 of the 3,752 prisoners in Danish jails (17
percent) were in pretrial detention. Any detainee has the
right to choose an attorney or have a free public attorney.
Bail is allowed, but it is rarely used; courts have prescribed
six other means for obtaining pretrial release, and these are
generally considered preferable. There is no exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The right to a fair public trial is enforced by a fully
independent judiciary. Trials are usually public, but judges
may make exceptions to protect the privacy or security of any
participant, e.g., in divorce cases or where the charge is rape
or paternity. In criminal cases, trials are closed when
necessary to protect a victim's privacy, such as in rape cases,
or to safeguard a witness' identity.
Defendants are presumed innocent, and have the right to be
present, to confront witnesses, and to present evidence. Both
the defendant and the prosecution have the right to appeal a
sentence.
Judges are appointed by the Minister of Justice, and serve
until age 70. They cannot be dismissed but can be impeached
for negligence or criminal acts.
There are no political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution stipulates that without a court order there
can be no searching of any home, surveillance of any
individual, seizure of any paper, or breaching of the
confidentiality of any communication. The Government respects
these prohibitions.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a democratic
political system ensure freedom of speech and press. There is
one state-owned radio and television company. Editorial
control is exercised by a board independent of the Government.
A second national television channel is one-third government
subsidized. Several independently owned Danish-language
channels are available on the local cable net or via satellite
dishes. Programs critical of the Government appear on all
channels. Cable television and satellite dishes, which are now
common, ensure wide access to foreign news broadcasts.
Academic freedom is respected.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for these freedoms, and the
Government respects them. Public meetings require permits,
which are routinely given. Any organization may affiliate with
international bodies.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for complete religious freedom, and
the Government respects this in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Citizens have full freedom of travel and movement within and
outside Denmark and freedom of repatriation. People who
qualify as refugees are never repatriated against their will.
However, pursuant to the Dublin Convention, asylum-seekers who
arrive via another safe country are returned directly to that
country. Also, Denmark increasingly seeks to repatriate
applicants unable to establish a claim to asylum. Unsuccessful
asylum applicants are returned directly to their home countries.
In 1993 Justice Minister Erik Ninn-Hansen was impeached for his
illegal actions in hampering the processing of family-
reunification petitions from Tamil refugees. His trial was
postponed in 1994 due to his severe illness.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens have both the right and the ability to change their
government peacefully. Ministers are responsible to the
Folketing and may be removed by a vote of no confidence. The
Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen after consultation
with parties in the Parliament. Parliamentary elections must
take place every 4 years or (by decision of the Prime Minister)
earlier, with voting by secret ballot. A system of
proportional representation benefits small parties. There are
no restrictions, in law or in practice, on the participation of
women or minorities in voting, politics, or government. Women
currently head two political parties in the Parliament; hold 7
of the 20 cabinet positions; and hold 58 of the 179 seats in
the Parliament.
The territories of Greenland (whose population is primarily
Inuit) and the Faroe Islands (whose inhabitants have their own
Norse language) have democratically elected home-rule
governments with powers encompassing all matters except foreign
affairs, monetary affairs, and national security. Greenlanders
and Faroese are Danish citizens, with the same rights as those
in the rest of the Kingdom. Each territory elects two
representatives to the Folketing.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Domestic and international human rights organizations freely
monitor and issue reports, without government restriction.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Government's operations and extensive public services do
not discriminate on the basis of any of these factors or on the
basis of sexual orientation. The rights of indigenous people
are carefully protected.
Women
There are no restrictions on participation of women in the
civilian work force. Women hold positions of authority
throughout society, though they are underrepresented at the top
of the business world. The law requires equal pay for equal
work, but wage inequality still exists. The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex, and provides recourses such
as access to the Equal Status Council.
Children
The Government is committed to ensuring that each child
receives humane treatment within the family and from society.
There is no pattern of societal abuse against children. The
production (but not the possession) of child pornography is
illegal in Denmark. The law requires parents to protect
children from physical and psychological abuse. The
authorities act swiftly to protect children from actually or
potentially abusive or neglectful parents.
Indigenous People
The law protects the rights of the inhabitants of Greenland and
the Faroe Islands. The Greenlandic legal system seeks to
accommodate Inuit customs. Accordingly, it provides for the
use of lay people as judges, and it sentences most prisoners to
holding centers (rather than to prisons) where they are
encouraged to work, hunt, or fish during the day.
In Greenland, education is provided to the native population in
both the Inuit and Danish languages.
People with Disabilities
There is no Danish legislation explicitly banning
discrimination against the handicapped in hiring or on-the-job
treatment. However, a longstanding regulation on hiring for
the civil service gives preference to any handicapped
candidates among equally qualified ones.
Danish regulations require special installations for the
handicapped in public buildings built or renovated after 1977,
and in older buildings that come into public use.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law states that all workers, including military personnel
and the police, may form or join unions of their choosing.
Approximately 80 percent of all workers are union members. The
unions are independent of the Government and political
parties. The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions, which
includes about half of the country's work force, remains
closely associated with the Social Democratic Party. Unions
may affiliate freely with international organizations, and they
do so actively.
All unions except those representing civil servants or the
military have the right to strike.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Workers and employers acknowledge each other's right to
organize. Collective bargaining is protected by law, and is
widespread in practice.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against
union members and organizers, and there are mechanisms to
resolve disputes. Employers found guilty of antiunion
discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for
union activities.
In the private sector, salaries, benefits, and working
conditions are agreed upon in biennial negotiations between the
various employers' associations and the union counterparts. If
the negotiations fail, a national conciliation board mediates,
and its proposal is voted on by management and labor. If the
proposal is turned down, the Government may force a legislated
solution on the parties (usually based upon the mediators'
proposal). The agreements, in turn, are used as guidelines
throughout the public as well as the private sector. In the
public sector, collective bargaining is conducted between the
employees' unions and a government group led by the Finance
Ministry.
Labor relations in Greenland are conducted in the same manner
as in Denmark. In disputes, Greenlandic courts are the first
recourse, but Danish mediation services or the Danish Labor
Court may also be used.
In the Faroes there is no umbrella labor organization, but
individual unions engage in periodic collective bargaining with
employers. Disputes are settled by mediation.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited and does not occur.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age for full-time employment is 15. The law
specifies limitations on the employment of workers between 15
and 18 years of age, and it is enforced by the Danish Working
Environment Service (DWES), an autonomous arm of the Ministry
of Labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no legally mandated national minimum wage, but
national labor agreements effectively set a wage floor. The
lowest wage is currently about $11 per hour (Danish Kroner 68
per hour), which is sufficient for an adequate standard of
living for a worker and family. The law provides for 5 weeks
of paid vacation. A 37-hour workweek is the norm, established
by contract, not by law. The law does, however, require at
least 11 hours between the end of one work period and the start
of the next.
The law also prescribes conditions of work, including safety
and health; duties of employers, supervisors and employees;
work performance; rest periods and days off; and medical
examinations. The DWES ensures compliance with labor
legislation. Workers may remove themselves from hazardous
situations or arms production without jeopardizing their
employment rights, and there are legal protections for workers
who file complaints about unsafe or unhealthy conditions.
Similar conditions of work are found in Greenland and the
Faroes, except that their standard workweek is 40 hours. As in
Denmark, this is established by contract, not by law, and the
law requires an 11-hour rest period.
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