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National racism report under fire

Published 21.07.10   09:50 

Government accused of glossing over country’s race relations A leading anti-racism organisation has criticised the government’s latest progress report to the UN, saying that it is both incomplete and that the number of cases included in the document is too...

A leading anti-racism organisation has criticised the government’s latest progress report to the UN, saying that it is both incomplete and that the number of cases included in the document is too low.

The report was sent as a precursor to the UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which will assess the situation in Denmark in August.

But according to the Documentation and Advisory Centre on Racism, the report leaves out a slew of incidents that the police and other investigators have deemed possibly race-related.

‘For example, the report doesn’t mention that [national intelligence agency] PET has identified 560 cases with possible racial/religious overtones, including violence, harassment, vandalism and attempted murder,’ said Niels-Erik Hansen, head of the advisory centre.

He also pointed out that the government’s assessment indicated that over the past five years there have been 123 reports of violations adhering to anti-racism laws. But according to the National Police, the figure is 190 cases in all.

Hansen said the government report painted a far too ‘rosy’ picture of the situation in Denmark.

‘If you cover your ears and close your eyes then it's easy to pretend there’s no racism,’ said Hansen.

Frank Mathiesen, a Justice Ministry advisor, said that if the UN asked for specific information about possible racially or religiously motivated incidents, then the government would not hesitate in providing it.

Both the Social Liberals and the Red Green Alliance have also criticised the report as inadequate.

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The Copenhagen Post