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Denmark’s supreme court to assess housing policy’s use of ethnicity
Denmark’s supreme court is considering whether the government’s use of the category “non-western” in housing policy falls under racial discrimination law. Residents evicted from Nøjsomhed-Sydvej in Helsingør argue their background was used to reduce the number of people classified as non-western and prevent the area being designated a “ghetto”; the government says the policy is unrelated to ethnicity. The decision could shape other legal challenges to the policy.
The law requires housing associations to reduce not-for-profit housing by 40% in affected areas by 2030, through measures including sales, demolitions and lease terminations. More than 1,000 people have been forced to move, and the European court of justice ruled in December that the legislation may be unlawful. The Nøjsomhed-Sydvej hearing could establish whether “non-western” background is covered by discrimination law; residents there may return if they win, while homes in the separate Mjølnerparken case have already been sold.
In short
- Denmark’s top court is reviewing ethnicity classifications in housing policy.
- The law has forced more than 1,000 people to move.
- The ruling could affect other challenges and residents’ chances of returning.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters could argue that housing policy should be allowed to use broad indicators of social disadvantage and segregation to address concentrated poverty and improve residents’ prospects. They may say “non-western” is a statistical category rather than a racial classification, and that measures to change housing composition are justified if they are proportionate and applied under clear rules.
The case against
Residents and critics could argue that using “non-western” background to determine which areas must lose social housing makes ethnicity a basis for unequal treatment, whatever the category’s official label. They may contend that forced moves impose serious harm on residents and that tackling segregation cannot justify policies that disproportionately displace a group defined by origin.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Denmark’s top court to rule on ‘parallel societies’ after ‘non-western’ people evicted”.