Denmark approves plan to seize refugee assets

The Danish parliament has approved a proposed law that will allow police to seize refugees’ assets.

The proposal drew sharp criticism at home and abroad when it was announced earlier this month, and the vote was taken in parliament on Tuesday night.

According to the Guardian, the vote follows in the footsteps of countries like Switzerland, where refugees have to turn over to the state any assets worth more than 1,000 Swiss francs (€900) to help pay for their upkeep.

Danish authorities have insisted that the policy brings asylum seekers in line with unemployed Danes, who must sell assets above a certain level to claim benefits.

Under the new law, police will be allowed to search asylum seekers on arrival in the country and confiscate any non-essential items worth more than 10,000 kroner (€1,300) that have no sentimental value to their owner.

According to reports, the Czech and Slovakian prime ministers condemned Greece’s inability to prevent hundreds of thousands of refugees from moving onwards to northern European countries, and they called for added border protection to block passage of refugees from Greece. EU interior minister have also said they are willing to suspend the Schengen agreement that allows free movement between member states in response to the crisis.

The country has also voted in favour of on another controversial proposal to delay family reunifications for refugees in an attempt to discourage them from travelling to the country.

The Guardian reports that asylum seekers in Denmark burst into tears when they heard the news that the law had passed, with one refugee saying; “Most people are fleeing war, they are running away, and when they flee they take with them all that they can. That doesn’t make them wealthy or criminals.”

Many have compared the plan to the confiscation of valuables from Jews during the Second World War, and the UN refugee agency the UNHCR has warned that the laws violate the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Refugee Convention.

Denmark expects to receive around 20,000 asylum seekers in 2016, compared to 15,000 last year, the integration ministry said.

Human rights associations react

The European Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AEDH) condemned the plan, calling it the latest in a series of measures aimed at discouraging refugees from going to Denmark, and reinforcing the stigmatization of foreigners.

"This law has been officially presented as a disincentive for migrants and refugees to come to Denmark. It is part of a series of other measures adopted in the past few months, including advertisement campaigns in Lebanese newspapers misinforming about asylum law in Denmark, and the promotion of the use of detention for arriving and rejected asylum-seekers established by law L-62 adopted on 20 November 2015," the AEDH said in a statement.

"Our organisations are profoundly shocked by the confiscation measures provided to seize asylum-seekers' personal valuables, including wedding rings and other jewelry, to support the cost of their stay. We recall that Danish law already provides for the possibility to seize asylum-seekers’ valuables over 10,000 DKK (about €1,500) upon their arrival in Denmark."

"As the Council of the EU is meeting today in Amsterdam, we are calling on Member States to utmost vigilance regarding this dangerous development.

"Europe must live up to its legal obligations according to international conventions as well as its duty to provide dignified reception and integration conditions by devising collective and effective solidarity and reception mechanisms, and not opt for unilateral and national restrictive measures that reject others."