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administrative deprivation of citizenship, which included access to judicial review and
procedural safeguards.
37.
The Government was aware that the situation in the camps in the north-eastern part of
the Syrian Arab Republic was deteriorating and that Danish children were being held there.
The Government had therefore set up a task force to explore whether such children could be
repatriated safely without their parents, on the basis of individual assessments. It was noted
that a report of the task force was to be issued in May 2021.
38.
Concerning newly arrived foreigners, the Government provided support for their
integration, including Danish language courses, job training and internships. The
Government placed a particular emphasis on increasing the employment rate among refugees
and migrant women through mentorship programmes.
39.
The Government continued to improve the quality of child protection. In January
2021, it presented a proposal for a reform to implement preventive measures and ensure a
reduction in the number of children experiencing abuse and ill-treatment. Moreover, starting
in 2016, the special office for children within the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman received
additional funding.
40.
With regard to trafficking in persons, the Government decided to establish a new
national unit to comprehensively investigate complex crimes, including trafficking linked to
organized crime. There was also a national action plan on combating trafficking in persons,
which included drop-in centres and mobile health units for women in prostitution.
41.
Denmark had universal health-care coverage based on the principle of residence,
whereby migrants with a Danish residence permit were entitled to the same health-care
coverage as Danish nationals.
42.
The delegation reported on measures taken by the Government to reduce the use of
coercive measures in psychiatric treatment. Denmark would continue to pursue a reduction
in the use of such coercive measures in the upcoming 10-year plan.
43.
Concerning recommendations to incorporate international human rights treaties into
Danish law, the delegation explained that various governments of Denmark had undertaken
studies of the issue. All of them had reached the same conclusion, indicating that the
incorporation of the treaties’ provisions into domestic legislation did not appear to be the best
option for the country’s effective implementation of its obligations under those conventions.
Moreover, the provisions of international treaties in general were a source of law in courts,
and they could therefore be invoked before the courts.
44.
The Government chose not implement a general action plan on human rights, as action
plans on specific areas had proven to be more effective in advancing human rights. The
Government was implementing several action plans in selected areas, including rights of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and business and human rights.
45.
The interministerial committee on human rights coordinated the follow-up to
recommendations received from international human rights mechanisms with the
participation of relevant ministries. The committee had cooperated with civil society
representatives in fulfilling its mandate.
46.
Denmark ratified all fundamental conventions of the International Labour
Organization (ILO), but did not plan to ratify the International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families because of the lack of
a distinction in the Convention between workers who were in the country legally and those
who were there illegally. The delegation explained that granting social rights to irregular
migrant workers could undermine the country’s welfare system and encourage illegal
migration.
47.
The Government decided not to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It was noted that many social and
economic rights entailed important macroeconomic choices, reflecting decisions that would
be better made in the Parliament rather than in the context of an individual complaint.
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