AYS Daily Digest 07/01/20— Council of Europe Says Danish Ellebaek Center “Unsuitable for Humans”
By: Are You Syrious
Tags: Denmark, Digest, Migrants, Human Rights, Refugees

AYS Daily Digest 07/01/20— Council of Europe Says Danish Ellebaek Center “Unsuitable for Humans”

Ellebaek Prison. Photo credit: Refugees.dk

Feature — Danish Centers for Asylum Seekers Condemned by Council of Europe

The Council of Europe’s Anti-Torture Committee published a report from its April 2019 visit of Danish prisons. Some of its harshest words were for the two detention centers for asylum seekers, Ellebaek and Nykobing Falster. Hans Wolff, the leader of the delegation, did not mince words and threatened Denmark with action in the European Court of Human Rights if they ignore the committee’s recommendations.

The committee visits many countries, and one can imagine in which countries we would normally find critical conditions, but I must say when it comes to migrant detention centers, Denmark is — very surprisingly — one of the worst…Either Denmark must make some very fast and serious changes on all the areas we have mentioned in the report. Or they must close down Ellebaek and move the detainees to a place with better facilities.

Conditions in Ellebaek

The chief complaint of the committee was with the center’s material conditions, which they called “unacceptable.” The facilities are prison-like, even though people there have committed no crimes and are mostly rejected asylum seekers awaiting deportation. They should have living conditions “approaching normality” since they are only in administrative detention.

Conditions in Ellebaek. Photographer: Ole Jakobsen, TV2

Many rooms and common areas need renovation desperately and have peeling paint, graffiti, or exposed electrical wiring. Some rooms for men in Ellebaek lacked even basic furniture, while others had furniture that was damaged.

One of the biggest problems for people detained in both centers was lack of freedom. Female residents of Ellebaek only receive 30 minutes of time outdoors per day when more is needed to maintain physical and mental health. The CPT recommends at least two hours of outdoor access per day — four times what they currently receive. People are also denied access to their cell phones, despite the fact that people in similar facilities across Europe have the right to a mobile phone, which is vital to keeping in touch with family and friends. Having a mobile phone is punishable with 15 days in solitary confinement.

One of the most shocking details is that people on suicide watch are forced to remain in observation rooms completely naked because the centers do not have rip-proof clothing.

Many of these problems are caused by lack of staff. Some guards blame lack of outdoor access on lack of staff to provide supervision, especially female staff. People being detained often have to translate for other detainees since professional interpreters are not available, leading to misunderstandings and conflict. Existing staff are not trained to work with people on the move.

The report also asked the Danish government to consider detaining fewer people in response to overcrowding in holding facilities, instead of scrambling to open new centers.

Political Responses

The Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberals, and the Red-Green Alliance called on the ruling Social Democratic government to improve conditions very quickly, as expressed by spokesperson Soren Sondergaard.

We cannot accept that Denmark violates our international human rights obligations. It is absolutely crucial that something is done so that no such criticism will be raised again.

However, this was not a unanimous sentiment among Danish politicians and people. Some say that the people being detained brought these conditions on themselves by failing the asylum application and not returning to their countries voluntarily. Others doubt the report’s findings. Danish People’s Party’s spokesman Peter Skaarup claims the committee was exaggerating.

However, the report’s findings were confirmed by a former prison officer at Ellebaek. He agreed that the buildings are in much worse shape than other prisons in Denmark and that the center is understaffed, especially in the women’s section.

The extensive, 85-page report and the independent confirmation make the unacceptable conditions very clear. Whether the Danish government will take action is another story, considering the hostile environment towards asylum seekers that the government is intentionally creating.