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Human rights in Denmark are protected in their constitution, Grundloven, and through the ratification of international human rights treaties. Denmark held a significant role in the adoption of both the European Convention on Human Rights and in the formation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or ECHR). In 1987, The Danish Parliament established a national human rights institution, the Danish Centre of Human Rights, now the "Danish Institute for Human Rights".

While Denmark and other Scandinavian countries have historically been "defenders of international law and human rights", several issues in regard to human rights still exist. Amnesty International has reported issues surrounding refugee and asylum seeker resettlement, violence against women and the rights of LGBTQI people.

Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy. The Constitutional Act (Grundloven), which was adopted on the 5th June 1849, lays the foundations of democracy in Denmark.

The Constitution has been amended three times, since its adoption in 1849. The most significant of these amendments occurred in 1953, with this being the Constitution in use today, as it granted "clear constitutional authority to share Denmark's sovereignty with other countries". This was important as it aimed to prepare Denmark for the potential membership to the European Union.

While the role of the Constitutional Act is to restrict the authority of the monarchy, it is also to ensure that human rights, civil and political rights are guaranteed for Danish citizens. Examples of these include the right to Personal Liberty (Section 71), Freedom of Expression (Section 77) and Freedom of Assembly (Section 79).

In addition, the Constitution guarantees Freedom of Religion (Section 67), provided that these communities do not threaten "good morals or public order".

These rights, enshrined in the Constitution, enjoy "special status" and are considered to be the "supreme source of Danish law". In addition, as outlined in Section 88 of the Constitution, these rights are the "supreme source of Danish law"

The European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a treaty that was ratified by 47 member states of the Council of Europe on the 3rd of September, 1953. The aim of the treaty is to both "protect the rule of law" and to endorse democracy in Europe. The European Convention was the first treaty to provide institutional means of supervising and enforcing human rights across Europe. To achieve this, the Convention established two enforcement measures - the European Commission of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.

Although ratified in 1953, the Convention was not incorporated in Danish law until 29 April, 1992. As a result of its incorporation in domestic law, Danish courts have a duty to enforce the Convention. The European Convention on Human Rights is the only treaty concerning human rights in Danish law at present. As a result, its law must be enforced by Danish courts. Significant civil and political rights that are guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights include the right to liberty, right to a fair trial, freedom of thought, conscience and religion and freedom of expression.

The European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or ECHR), established in 1959 by the European Convention on Human Rights, is the Council of Europe's court of law. Its purpose is to examine and make judgments on complaints of alleged human rights violations.

In the early stages of the ECtHR's foundation, the Scandinavian countries were some of the first to agree to the optional clauses on its jurisdiction, thus strengthening its political legitimacy. In addition, Denmark and the other Nordic states were prominent figures in the preliminary construction of the ECtHR system, and in its finalisation.

Section 71. Personal Liberty
Section 71 of the Constitution focuses on inalienable rights, as well as ensuring citizens' protection from unreasonable restraint and guaranteeing one's right to a fair trial. The direct quote below outlines the fact that a Danish citizen cannot be detained due to their religion, race or political view :

"Personal liberty shall be inviolable. No Danish subject shall in any manner whatever be deprived of his liberty because of his political or religious convictions or because of his descent."

Section 77. Freedom of Expression
Section 77 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, both of which are recognised as human right s under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). While the government largely respects these rights, legal restrictions are in place for libel, blasphemy and racism.

In March 2015, discussions surrounding the removal of legal restrictions for blasphemy were suspended as the Danish government confirmed that its anti blasphemy law would remain in place.

Section 79. Freedom of Assembly
Section 79 of the Constitution protects citizens' right to gather for peaceful assembly. This is recognised as a human right under international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Freedom of Assembly is understood as the right to protest peacefully, and without arms.

Section 79 also outlines that if an assembly is a threat to public peace, it may be dissolved by the police.

Section 67. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is regarded a fundamental human right, as outlined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition it is entrenched in Section 67 of the Danish constitution, which outlines that citizens are entitled to establish and join religious congregations or communities. However, the exception of this is that the religious group may not present a threat to "good morals or the public order".

With the rise of religious extremism in contemporary times, government restrictions on religion are beginning to increase.

Examples of this include the Danish parliament's ban on wearing of face veils, enacted in May 2018. This law is seen as problematic as it targets less than 0.1% of Denmark's population - Muslim women whose choose to wear the niqab or the burqa.

In addition, a law introduced in 2019 requires a person to shake hands with officials at their naturalisation ceremony if they wish to take Danish citizenship. This has prompted human rights concerns surrounding freedom of religion as it is argued to target Muslim and Jewish groups who demonstrate "lack of assimiliation". The Danish Government however, argue that this law has been put in place solely to elevate a "social custom to a national value".

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Following the atrocities of World War II, the international community came together to establish the United Nations in 1945. In order to promote international peace and equality, they developed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December, 1948. The declaration was established in order to be "a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations".

The UDHR was the first of its kind, as it was a codification of human rights without discrimination and incorporated entitlements that related to all spheres of human life and personality. Although it is not a treaty and thus is not legally binding, it was hoped that it would serve as a model for domestic laws and later binding treaties. In addition, the UDHR, which is still in use today, acts as a mechanism to uphold values such as "universal equality and freedom, supporting decolonisation, good governance and the struggle against discrimination".

Involvement in International Human Rights Campaigns
On 21 April 1967, the elected government in Greece was overthrown in a coup d'ètat led by a group of Greek colonels (military junta). In September 1967, the Nordic states including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands appealed to the European Commission of Human Rights to hold Greece accountable for their violation of what are considered to be human rights by the European Convention on Human Rights. As a result, the Council of Europe passed a resolution on 15 April 1970 that made the Report of the Human Rights Commission on the Greek Case public. This report found that, as initially put forward by the Nordic states, many of the human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated by the Greek government.

Furthermore, from the 1970s onwards, the Nordic states played a significant role in supporting non-governmental human rights organisations and actors. For example, the Helsinki Watch, a non-governmental organisation based in the US and established in 1978, was crucial to advocating for human rights in this period. The Helsinki Watch led the formation of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), founded in 1982. As early as 1985, the IHF had committees in a number of European countries including Denmark. This early support for international human rights is what has secured Denmark its reputation as a "vehicle of progressive change."

Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Denmark is argued by some to have some of Europe's "most aggressive anti-immigrant policies." The people of Denmark are largely divided in their opinions on immigration - some accepting of it and others who are concerned and thus want restrictive policies in place. In 2016, the Danish annulled its agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that stated that it would receive 500 refugees on a annual basis for resettlement.

In 2018, Denmark announced that it would no longer resettle refugees under the United Nation's quota system, with the decision to accept refugees being made by the government and not the parliament.

In addition, in late 2018 the Danish government announced that the 2019 budget would include funding for a scheme that would see foreign criminals who had completed jail sentences, but could not be deported, to be moved to Lindholm Island. Lindholm Island is located two miles out from the southeast of Denmark, and had previously been a laboratory for animals with highly contagious diseases. The policy has been labelled as being "barbaric" and "deeply repulsive."

Violence against Women
The Istanbul Convention (the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence), which was ratified by Denmark in 2014, classifies "rape and all other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature" as being criminal offences. However, the definition of rape in domestic Danish law is not based on the notion of consent and is instead based on the presence of "physical violence, threat or coercion" or "if the victim is found to have been unable to resist."

This is deemed to be problematic as the assumption that a victim gives their consent to a sexual act if they do not resist it physically ignores the possibility of "involuntary paralysis" or "freezing," and thus the inability to resist.

In April 2018, the Danish opposition proposed the introduction of a "consent-based definition of rape" as outlined under the Istanbul Convention. This was rejected in Parliament. In addition, pressure was put on the Danish government by the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) to adapt its sexual violence legislation to include the notion of "freely given consent."

A report published by Amnesty International in March 2019 states that women in Denmark rarely reported rapes due to a "lack of trust in the justice system" and the poor treatment of victims throughout the legal process.

Rights of LGBT People
Denmark was the first country to recognise registered partnerships (Danish: registreret partnerskab) between same-sex couples, with this law being enacted on 7 June 1989. This granted LGBT people with many of the same rights as heterosexual couples, however it did not grant them "the right to adopt or obtain joint custody of a child". On 15 June 2012, Denmark became the eleventh country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, with the existing law being replaced by gender-neutral marriage legislation.

In January 2016, a resolution was implemented by the Danish parliament which stopped being transgender from classifying as a mental health condition. In doing so, Denmark became the first country in Europe to go against the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, which classified transgender identity as being a mental health issue until June 2018. However, in their 2017/2018 report on 'The State of the World's Human Rights', Amnesty International flag the current procedural rules surrounding access of transgender people to hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery to be an issue, arguing that they "unreasonably prolong the gender recognition process."

In addition, Amnesty International revealed that the Danish Health Authority has not yet established national guidelines outlining how children with variations of sex characteristics should be treated by doctors. As a result, it is allowed for "non-emergency invasive and irreversible medical procedures" to be conducted on children under the age of 10. This directly violates the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.