World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Denmark
| Publisher | Minority Rights Group International |
| Publication Date | 2007 |
| Cite as | Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Denmark, 2007, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4954ce0433.html [accessed 18 May 2023] |
| Comments | In October 2015, MRG revised its World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples. For the most part, overview texts were not themselves updated, but the previous 'Current state of minorities and indigenous peoples' rubric was replaced throughout with links to the relevant minority-specific reports, and a 'Resources' section was added. Refworld entries have been updated accordingly. |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Environment
The Kingdom of Denmark consists of the mainland of the Jutland Peninsula and the islands which constitute one-third of its territory. Its only land frontier is with Germany, to the south. The two Danish external territories are Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
History
During the Viking period (ninth-eleventh centuries), Denmark was a great power based on the Jutland Peninsula, the Island of Zealand and what is now southern Sweden. Viking raids brought Denmark into contact with Christianity. In the early twelfth century, Denmark became a separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The Reformation was introduced in 1536 and Denmark quickly became a predominantly Lutheran state, which it remains. Denmark's current boundaries are the result of centuries of political conflict and cooperation. In the fourteenth century, Queen Margrethe I succeeded in uniting Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland under the Danish crown. Sweden and Finland left the union in 1520 and Norway in 1814. Iceland remained in a 'personal union' under the Danish crown until 1918 and finally became independent in 1944. Meanwhile, the present border with Germany mostly dates back to the Dano-Prussian War of 1864. At this time, Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig- Holstein to Prussia. Today, Denmark is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the European Union.
Peoples
Main languages: Danish, Greenlandic, Faroese, German
Main religions: Lutheran (95%), other Protestant and Roman Catholic (3%), Muslim (2%).
Minority groups include 55,600 Turks (1%), 17,400 former Yugoslavs (0.3%), Asians, Africans, Inuit and Faroese (data: Statistics Denmark, 2006).
The Faroe Islands are 18 islands in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland, inhabited by 48,183 Faroese.
Three-quarters of the immense land surface of Greenland is covered by permanent ice and unsuitable for permanent settlement. The majority of the island's 56,969 population is Inuit.
Denmark is mostly inhabited by ethnic Danes. Very few Faeroese or Greenlanders have settled in mainland Denmark despite their status as Danish citizens. Small numbers of Germans, Jews, Roma, Poles and Hungarians, on the other hand, have been long established and are substantially assimilated. In the 1960s an economic expansion required more labour than the nation could supply, and 'guest workers' (gæstearbejdere) made their way into Denmark. Between 1960 and 1972, Denmark recruited industrial guest workers, mainly from Turkey, Yugoslavia and Pakistan. The country currently operates restrictive asylum laws, carrier sanctions, fingerprinting and the safe-third-country principle. Denmark (along with the United Kingdom and Ireland) has opted out of the common asylum policy of the European Union. Recent reports suggest that the introduction of these stricter measures and opt-out provisions in 2001-2 has led to skewed burden-sharing, with applications for asylum falling in Denmark but increasing in neighbouring Sweden and Norway.
Governance
The Faroe Islands and Greenland are self-governing communities within the Danish State. Home rule was introduced in 1948 and 1979 respectively. These home-rule arrangements are not based on ethnic or linguistic criteria. Accordingly, the populations of these territories are not officially recognized as national minorities. In contrast, for historical reasons, the German minority in Denmark is characterized as a national minority.
Denmark ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on 22 September 1997 and it entered into force on 1 February 1998. Since that time, Denmark's minority rights provisions have undergone two monitoring cycles under the Framework Convention. Denmark has declared that the provisions of the Framework Convention apply only to the German population of South Jutland and have no wider application. This position has been criticized by the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention who are concerned by its exclusion of Greenland Inuit, Faroese and Roma minorities.
In 2003, Denmark passed the Act on Ethnic Equal Treatment (Act No. 374 of 28 May 2003). This Danish legislation, reflecting the principles of Articles 4 and 6 of the Framework Convention, provides additional safeguards against discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin in a number of social settings. A further positive development has been the establishment of the Danish Institute for Human Rights along with its Complaints Committee for processing cases and providing opinions on whether there have been contraventions of the prohibition against discrimination. Nevertheless, controversy regarding racism and xenophobia remain as the recent Danish cartoons case demonstrates.
Minorities
Resources
Minority based and advocacy organisations
General
Amnesty International
Tel: +45 33 11 75 41
Amnesty International, Torshavn
[Faroe Islands]
Tel: 298 15816
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.amnesty.dk
Danish Helsinki Committee
Tel: +45 33 91 81 18
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.helsinki-komiteen.dk/
Danish Institute for Human Rights
Tel: +45 326 98888
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.humanrights.dk/
Danish Refugee Council
[Private, humanitarian organization covering all aspects of the refugee cause]
Tel: +45 33 73 50 00
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.drc.dk/
Minority Rights Group Denmark
Tel: +45 31 54 22 11
Inuit (Greenlanders)
Grønlands Hjemmestyre
Tel: (+299) 34 50 00
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nanoq.gl
Oqaasileriffik
[Information about Greenlandic language]
Tel: +299 34 58 33
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.oqaasileriffik.gl
Germans of South Jutland
League of North Schleswig Germans
Tel: 0045/74623833
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nordschleswig.dk
Sources and further reading
General
Johansen, T. and Olafsson, A. (eds), The Faroe Islands' Culture, Copenhagen, Faroese Government Office, 1989.
MRG (ed.), Minorities and Autonomy in Western Europe, London, MRG, 1991.
Nuttall, M., 'Greenland', in MRG (ed.), Polar Peoples, London, London, Minority Rights Publications, 1994.
Inuit (Greenlanders)
Inuit Circumpolar Conference: http://www.inuit.org
Germans of South Jutland
Byram, M.S., Minority Education and Ethnic Survival: Case Study of a German School in Denmark, Clevedon, Multilingual Matters, 1986.
