Denmark votes for asylum – it won’t take in any refugees

The new proposal now voted in Parliament, the Danish equivalent of the Swedish Riksdag, means that refugees who have been granted asylum in Denmark will not be allowed to enter the country. Instead, they should be able to integrate into other countries where there are reception centers – or alternatively transfer them to a UN refugee camp.

According to the discussions, some of the countries where Danish reception centers may become relevant are Tunisia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Rwanda.

“Is there a reason why they should not stay in Romania?”

The background to the decision, according to Migration and Integration Minister Matthias Tesfaye (S), should fix the broken asylum system.

– It is a new asylum system that will contribute to reducing the number of people seeking asylum in Denmark, fewer refugees and migrants drowning in the Mediterranean, and fewer people vulnerable to abuse on migration routes, he said earlier in May according to TT.

Matthias Tesfaye also said that the new system would result in refugees and other migrants having no fewer reasons to go to Europe’s “welfare associations”.

– There is a reason why they do not stay in Romania and seek asylum, but they continue towards Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and other countries with more developed health care systems.

Criticism: “You can’t export your responsibility”

Experts previously described the proposal as one of the biggest changes in asylum and refugee policy in Denmark since 1951.

But it has also been met with criticism, not least from an international perspective. Both the United Nations and the European Union believe that the new system will have a negative impact on cooperation abroad.

Human rights organizations have also criticized the proposal.

You cannot export your responsibility to protect human rights. But the bill is so imprecise that we cannot evaluate it from a human rights perspective. For example, how can you ensure a legally safe asylum process or refugees will not be persecuted in a third country? Louise Hulk, director of the Human Rights Institute, a state-independent human rights organization in Denmark, told TT.