Annual report: International progress and Danish setbacks for human rights

Annual report 2015-16
In Denmark, immigrant policies put a pressure on human rights while internationally, the human rights agenda has been strengthened by new development goals.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights' annual report to the Danish Parliament is now out. The institute has assessed the development of human rights in Denmark over the past year and give an overview of our activities both abroad and in Denmark. In Denmark, human rights are still in a strong position, but the rights of immigrants and refugees are under strain both in Denmark and in the rest of Europe.

Sustainable development and human rights

Internationally, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in September 2015, can have a huge effect on human rights.

”The Sustainable Development Goals and human rights can reinforce each other. The SDGs are voluntary and based on broad political commitment, whereas human rights is a legal framework that we can use to demand action from political leaders, businesses and investors”, says Eva Grambye, Deputy Executive Director and Head of the international division.

The institute has developed an online guide with concrete links between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. The guide uncovers the human rights anchorage of all 17 goals and 169 targets, as well as the adequacy of the global indicators. The guide enables actors to use human rights as a driver for realizing the SDGs – and to use the SDGs to realize human rights.

Terror prevention

The report also covers a strategic partnership between the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the Terrorism prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on human rights responses to terrorism. One of the great threats currently facing the countries of the Sahel, such as Niger and Burkina Faso, is terrorism. The partnership between the Danish Institute for Human Rights and UNODC gives the police services of West Africa the opportunity to benefit not only from UNODC’s professionalism to deliver training and capacity building on human rights and criminal justice responses to violent extremism, but also to make use of the Danish Institute for Human Rights’ methodology on human rights training and its partnership concept and approach in its work in mainly West Africa.

Rights of immigrants and refugees under pressure in Denmark

The status of human rights in Denmark is on a large-scale good with a number of important steps forward in the past year. That said, the institute has noted setbacks mostly concerning the rights of immigrants and refugees. Moreover, several political leaders including the Prime Minister have suggested that we either renegotiate the international human rights conventions or leave them altogether.

"If Denmark and other Western countries want to change our obligations, then our most unstable neighbouring countries and undemocratic regimes will seize the chance eagerly. This can lead to a more unstable world and result in even more people fleeing to Europe," says Jonas Christoffersen, Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

He adds: "It is far better for Denmark to live with the few restrictions that international conventions provide today because we cannot control what the outcome will be if the conventions are opened up for renegotiation. But what we can be quite sure of is that we are left with a more unstable world behind”.

Contact

Executive Director