By Brendan Sweeney
In recent years there has been an increasing focus on asylum seekers in Denmark, and especially on the length of their stay in asylum centres as well as their mental and physical health. There has also been a great deal of public debate about the situation of rejected asylum seekers, and policies which aim to encourage them to return to their home countries.
In order to clarify the situation of rejected asylum seekers and other foreigners facing deportation from Denmark, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) carried out a study and created a special databank. The study focused on matters relating to housing, private and family life, economic, educational and working conditions and health with the aim of alleviating some of the problems faced by rejected asylum seekers.
The study showed that these measures, which had an adverse effect on the private lives and educational opportunities of asylum seekers, as well as exposing them to significant psychological pressure, had no motivational effect on those who could not be returned by force. As a result these measures resemble a form of harassment with no perceivable effect and disproportionate to the goal which they were designed to achieve. This is especially true with regard to asylum seekers who cannot be sent home because they would risk persecution, torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Based on statistical information and 60 qualitative interviews with rejected asylum seekers as well as interviews with staff from organisations such as the Danish Red Cross, the Danish National Police and voluntary organizations, the study shows that detention in particular places a great strain on the psychological health of the detainees and can cause a number of significant negative consequences including mental breakdowns, suicide attempts and reduced wellbeing among children.
The study also revealed that the atmosphere in asylum centres is often plagued by frustration and conflict between residents and between residents and staff that living quarters are cramped and there is a general lack of privacy, especially for single people. With regard to the obligation to reside within departure centres the study shows that that this is particularly burdensome for rejected asylum seekers with ties outside the asylum centre especially for those with family members on the outside.
Over half of the rejected asylum seekers interviewed by DIHR suffer from mental and psychosomatic illnesses, and many feel that their health has deteriorated. The fact that detainees experience a gradual deterioration of their health and that there is an accumulation of health problems over time is also confirmed by assessments carried out by the Red Cross as well as national and international studies.
The study is being published in the wake of an agreement by the Danish state with the Iraqi government, allowing Denmark to forcibly return 265 Iraqis. According to its author, Lisbeth Garly Andersen, a Project Manager at DIHR, the publishing of this study is very timely:
”We risk losing focus on the fact that there are rejected asylum seekers in Denmark whose circumstances need to be examined in greater detail. It is also worth mentioning that many of the asylum seekers who are waiting to be deported have been through a long and arduous process which has caused them mental anguish or damaged their family and private life. This means that it is crucial that we do what we can to alleviate these problems, she concluded.
For further information, please contact Brendan Sweeney at