Socialudvalget 2023-24
SOU Alm.del Bilag 318
Offentligt
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United Nations
CRPD
/C/DNK/CO/2-3
Distr.: General
5 September 2024
ADVANCE UNEDITED
VERSION
Original: English
Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Concluding observations on the combined second and third
periodic reports of Denmark
*
I. Introduction
1.
The Committee considered the combined second and third periodic reports of
Denmark
1
at its 737th and 738th meetings
2
, held on 23 August 2024. It adopted the following
concluding observations at its 752nd meeting, held on 3 September 2024.
2.
The Committee welcomes the combined second and third periodic reports of Denmark,
comprising the information on Denmark and on the self-governed territories within the
Kingdom, namely the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which was prepared in accordance with
the Committee’s reporting guidelines,
including under the simplified reporting procedures.
The Committee thanks the State party for its written replies to the list of issues prior to
reporting
3
, and the additional information submitted by the State party.
3.
The Committee appreciates the fruitful and constructive dialogue held with the large
delegation, which included many representatives of relevant government ministries as well
as representatives of the government ministries of the Faroe Islands and of Greenland. The
Committee also expresses its appreciation for the active participation of the Danish Institute
for Human Rights, in its capacity as the national human rights institution and independent
monitoring mechanism pursuant to article 33 (2) of the Convention.
II. Positive aspects
4.
The Committee commends the State party on its efforts to review and amend its
legislation, in particular its amendment in 2021 to the Criminal Code, including disability as
a protected target in line with race, ethnicity, gender, etc. The Committee commends the
Government of the Faroe Islands on its adoption of a law in 2024, establishing an independent
monitoring mechanism which is scheduled to start operating on 1 January 2025.
5.
The Committee commends that the Danish Government and several other parties in
Parliament concluded a framework agreement in May 2024 for the disability sector,
consisting of initiatives to benefit children, young people and adults with physical or
psychosocial disabilities. It also commends the Danish Government on the development of a
10-year action plan for improving psychiatric care, which includes goals to reduce coercive
measures by 2030. It commends the Government of Greenland for its adoption of an Action
Plan For Compliance With UN Convention on The Rights of Persons With Disabilities 2024-
2034.
*
Adopted by the Committee at its thirty-first session (12 August–5 September 2024).
1
2
3
CRPD/C/DNK/2-3
See CRPD/C/SR.737 and CRPD/C/SR.738
CRPD/C/DNK/QPR/2-3
GE.24-
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6.
The Committee commends the Danish Government on the commitments made at the
Global Disability Summit in February 2022, and its enrolment in the Global Action on
Disability-network (GLAD) in June 2022. It also commends the Danish Ministry of Children
and Education on the establishment of the unit VIBUS - Knowledge Unit for children and
young people with special needs with the main task to ensure the establishment of a
professional basis for strengthening efforts for students with special needs.
III. Principal areas of concern and recommendations
A.
General principles and obligations (arts. 1–4)
7.
The Committee is concerned that the Convention is not explicitly incorporated into
the laws of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is equally concerned at the
reluctance by the State party’s courts to take the Convention fully into account in all
judgments relating to the rights of persons with disabilities.
8.
Recalling its previous recommendation
4
, the Committee recommends that the
State party incorporate the Convention into the laws of Denmark, the Faroe Islands
and Greenland, and take measures to further improve the direct application of the
Convention by the courts and administrative bodies, including by making the
Convention, the Committee’s
jurisprudence and its general comments integral part of
systematic capacity building for all judges.
9.
The Committee is concerned that legislation of the Kingdom of Denmark does not
systematically include a disability perspective and the human rights model of disability. It is
also concerned by the lack of measures to revise and repeal discriminatory or retrogressive
legislation on the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly:
(b)
The Legal Incapacity and Guardianship, Act No. 1015 of 20 August 2007, not
being based on a model of supported decision-making;
(c)
The amendment of the Danish Building Regulations, Administrative Order No.
1399 of 12 December 2019, allowing for a reduction in the accessibility requirements of
single-family houses.
10.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark conduct a
comprehensive review of existing legislation to ensure compliance with the principles,
definitions, rights and obligations under the Convention, repeal any legislation,
including recent amendments, taking retrogressive measures and refrain from taking
any retrogressive measures in the future, including in the current processes devising
the policies of the new government.
11.
The Committee is concerned that no new national action plan for persons with
disabilities has yet been put in place in Denmark, and that the foreseen action plan would
only cover the fields of labour market and education. The Committee notes with concern that
the Faroe Islands still lack a disability policy action plan, and that the new action plan in
Greenland lacks ambition and is vague particularly in terms of implementation. It is further
concerned about the lack of awareness about the Convention among national, regional and
municipal authorities.
12.
The Committee recommends that the Governments of Denmark, the Faroe
Islands and Greenland adopt national disability action plans that cover all rights and
substantive areas under the Convention, including the fundamental change required
by, among others, articles 12, 14, 15, 19, and 24, and establish concrete objectives,
measurable targets, adequate budget, and indicators, to evaluate progress in the
implementation of the plans. It also recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark
strengthen periodic training about the Convention, among the municipal, regional and
national authorities.
4
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para. 13
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13.
The Committee notes the State party’s funding allocations for disability. It is,
however, concerned about the uneven allocation of funds for persons with disabilities across
municipalities. It also notes with concern that the increase in investments on institutions
(“housing
facilities”)
infringes on the rights of persons with disabilities to live independently
and being included in the community.
14.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation
with and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their
representative organizations, ensure an even allocation of funds for the support of
persons with disabilities across municipalities, monitor the use of disability funding,
and address gaps in funding across disability sectors.
15.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of specific accessibility measures directed
at persons with disabilities to the Consultation Portal in Denmark, allowing them to
effectively take part in the consultation process. The Committee is also concerned at the lack
of systematic and institutionalized engagement with persons with disabilities through their
representative organizations in the development and implementation of legislation and
policies to implement the Convention in Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
16.
Recalling its General Comment No. 7 (2018) on the participation of persons with
disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative
organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention, the Committee
recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark take steps to develop and implement legally
entrenched procedures for close consultation with and active involvement of persons
with disabilities through their representative organizations across all sectors, in all
matters affecting them, and provide adequate accessibility to this end. It also
recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark allocate sufficient time to allow
organizations of persons with disabilities to conduct internal consultation among their
membership across all disability sectors.
B.
Specific rights (arts. 5–30)
Equality and non-discrimination (art. 5)
17.
The Committee notes with concern that:
(a)
The Act No. 688 of 2018 on the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds
of disability explicitly states that it does not impose any obligation to provide reasonable
accommodation or accessibility, and its revision in 2020 introduced a duty of reasonable
accommodation only in daycare and primary schools;
(b)
No steps have been taken to introduce general, cross-cutting legislation against
disability discrimination that extends protection beyond the labour market in the Faroe
Islands;
(c)
The Greenland’s Inatsisartut Act on Equality and Anti-Discrimination does not
contain a right to reasonable accommodation and mandatory rules on accessibility.
18.
The Committee recalls its general comment No.6 (2018), targets 10.2 and 10.3 of
the Sustainable Development Goals and its previous recommendation
5
, and
recommends that:
(a)
The Government of Denmark amend the Act No. 688 of 2018 on the
prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of disability to recognize the denial of
reasonable accommodation as a form of discrimination, introduce an obligation of
reasonable accommodation and ensure accessibility in all aspects of life, in compliance
with the Convention;
(b)
The Government of the Faroe Islands adopt new comprehensive cross-
sectoral anti-discrimination legislation on disability that extends protection beyond the
labour market and specifically provides for reasonable accommodation;
5
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para.15
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(c)
The Government of Greenland amend the Inatsisartut Act on Equality
and Anti-Discrimination to guarantee an explicit individual right to reasonable
accommodation and the right to accessibility.
19.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of measures taken to revise current
legislation on insurance to repeal discriminatory provisions concerning premiums and health,
life, travel and home contents insurance coverage for persons with disabilities, and to ensure
equal access to disability-related entitlements, including compensation to cover additional
costs of disability regardless of age or eligibility for the national pension scheme.
20.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark take measures,
including legislation, to ensure that the right of persons with disabilities to have access
to insurance, including insurance by private providers, on an equal basis and at the
same cost as other citizens is guaranteed.
21.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of funding and resources of the Board of
Equal treatment, which results in a significant increase of the processing time for settling
complaints about discrimination on the grounds of disability.
22.
The Committee recommends that the State party take appropriate measures to
ensure that the Board of Equal Treatment has sufficient resources to greatly reduce
case-processing time and to ensure effective enforcement of the rights of persons with
disabilities.
Women with disabilities (art. 6)
23.
The Committee is concerned that the Act on Gender Equality has not been amended
to specifically include women and girls with disabilities since the initial report of the State
party. It is also concerned about the lack of disaggregated information and data collection on
intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities.
24.
The Committee, recalling its general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls
with disabilities, targets 5.1, 5.2 and 5.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals and its
previous recommendation
6
, recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark ensure that
the perspective of gender and disability is included in its laws and policies, and in their
implementation and evaluation. It also recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark
ensure systematic data collection and periodic studies on the situation of women and
girls with disabilities.
Children with disabilities (art. 7)
25.
The Committee notes that under the Child Act, children gain party status upon
reaching the age of 10; however, it is concerned that children and young persons whose
parents receive disability compensatory benefits due to the child’s or young person’s
disability are still not considered parties in their own cases.
26.
Recalling its joint statement with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and
the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the rights of children with
disabilities
7
, the Committee recommends that the State party revise the Child Act to
ensure that children and young persons with disabilities, whose parents receive
disability compensation benefits, are granted party status on.
27.
The Committee notes that the Government of the Faroe Islands has recently initiated
a preparatory work for
drafting a Children’s Act aiming
at coordinating cross-sectoral welfare
services and services for children and young people; however, it is concerned that
organizations for persons with disabilities, including those of children and young persons
with disabilities, have not yet been included in the process.
28.
The Committee recommends that the Government of the Faroe Islands take
measures to closely consult and actively involve persons with disabilities, through their
6
7
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para.19
See www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd/statements-declarations-and-observations.
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representative organizations, including organizations of children with disabilities, in
the drafting process of the
Children’s Act.
29.
The Committee notes that almost all newborn children are screened for hearing loss
in Denmark, and if a hearing loss of a certain degree is found, parents are offered their child
receive a cochlear implant (CI) and a three-year Auditory-Verbal Therapy programme;
however, the Committee is concerned that children with CI and their families are not offered
Danish Sign Language training, which has negative consequences for children with CI who
do not achieve an age-appropriate spoken language level.
30.
The Committee recommends that Denmark ensure children with CI and their
parents receive Danish Sign Language training in a timely manner. It also recommends
the Faroe Islands and Greenland take analogous measures.
Awareness-raising (art. 8)
31.
The Committee is concerned about ableism and prevailing stereotypes and prejudice
towards persons with disabilities in society, and the low level of awareness in the population
of the Kingdom of Denmark about the rights of persons with disabilities preventing inclusion
of persons with disabilities in work, education and other areas of life. It is also concerned at
the often-scarce respective knowledge of officials in many state, regional and municipal
authorities, and the absence of periodic, regular and continuous awareness-raising measures
aimed at general public, public officials and private actors on the rights of persons with
disabilities under the Convention, including in the mass media and on the Internet.
32.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark devise and adopt a
long-term national strategy, in close consultation with and with the active involvement
of persons with disabilities through their representative organizations, to raise
awareness among the general public, the government, including legislative bodies, the
administration and the judiciary, private sectors and persons with disabilities
themselves and to combat stereotypes, and monitor its impact.
Accessibility (art. 9)
33.
The Committee notes with concern:
(a)
The recent and ongoing repeal of legal accessibility obligations, including the
amendment to the Danish Building Regulations on single-family houses, and the draft
amendment to the Greenland’s Inatsisartut Act on accessibility requirement for public
buildings and facilities;
(b)
The lack of a comprehensive strategy and plans to ensure accessibility in all
areas of the Convention;
(c)
The insufficient implementation of accessibility and universal design in public
transportation and services, hindering mobility and participation of persons with disabilities;
(d)
The barriers in the digital environment preventing access for persons with
disabilities to information and communication.
34.
Recalling its general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility, the Committee
recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation and with the active
involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations:
(a)
Review legislation in all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark which provides
for exemptions from compliance with accessibility standards in buildings, including
single-family houses and services and extend legal accessibility standards to all public
spaces, buildings and services open to the public;
(b)
Adopt and implement a national strategy, with a duty for municipal
authorities to set up plans and monitor compliance, to identify existing barriers to
accessibility and provide the human, technical and financial resources necessary to
remove these barriers and ensure the accessibility of, inter alia, buildings, including
new buildings and buildings being renovated, historic buildings and roads with
cobblestones, transportation, information and communication, including information
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and communications technologies, and other facilities and services open or provided to
the public, for all persons with disabilities;
(c)
Conduct awareness-raising training, spread information and promote
understanding about the concept of universal design among public officials, including
architects, engineers, personnel who
are “working on the ground” with pavements,
slopes, train stations, new technology;
(d)
Take measures to apply the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and
remove barriers preventing universal and equal access for persons with disabilities to
websites and digital communications;
(e)
Provide live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers, and
professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to buildings and other
facilities open to the public.
35.
The Committee is concerned that the existing remote interpreting service for persons
with hearing impairments in the area of social affairs and housing is only available between
8am and 3pm on weekdays, and only for a limited number of authorities, restricting their
right to contact public authorities, particularly in case of emergencies, and to be included in
society.
36.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark take measures to
ensure that persons with hearing impairments have access to remote interpreting 24
hours a day and to all relevant authorities.
Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11)
37.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of an overarching disability-inclusive
strategy for coordination of prevention and response measures in Denmark, the Faroe Islands
and Greenland in relation to disaster risk reduction, climate change and emergency
management and for the implementation of the Charter on the Inclusion of Persons with
Disabilities in Humanitarian Action;
38.
Recalling the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the
Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with
Disabilities in Humanitarian Action
and the Committee’s Guidelines on
deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies
8
, the Committee recommends that
Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, in close consultation with and with the
active involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative
organizations: develop a uniform mechanism for the identification of refugees and
asylum-seekers with disabilities, persons with disabilities in refugee-like situations,
including persons under temporary protection from Ukraine, to ensure implementation
of specific protection and safety measures and the provision of reasonable
accommodation, and ensure equality of access to essential services and disability-
related support, including accessible communication, accessible housing, adequate
livelihoods, assistive devices and support for entering the labour market.
Equal recognition before the law (art. 12)
39.
The Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The insufficient measures taken to repeal restrictions on legal capacity on the
basis of actual or perceived impairment under the Legal Incapacity and Guardianship Act
and its 2019 amendments;
(b)
Scarce systematic and disaggregated data on the number of guardianships
issued and the number of persons with disabilities who have regained legal capacity since the
ratification of the Convention by the State party;
8
CRPD/C/5.
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(c)
The lack of measures to repeal substitute decision-making systems and enact
supported decision-making systems, and the inadequate support measures for persons with
disabilities to exercise their legal capacity on an equal basis with others;
40.
Recalling its general comment No. 1 (2014) on equal recognition before the law,
the Committee recommends the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with and
with the active involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative
organizations:
(a)
Amend the Legal Incapacity and Guardianship Act to guarantee full legal
capacity to all persons with disabilities, and review existing guardianships and all
remaining interdiction and incapacitation orders and adapt them to the new system of
supported decision-making;
(b)
Collect data on guardianship of persons with disabilities disaggregated by
race, sex, gender, age, disability and other relevant status;
(c)
Eliminate all forms of the existing substitute decision-making system and
replace them with systems of supported decision-making that respect the will and
preference of persons with disabilities in all areas of life, and develop a comprehensive
strategy in the Kingdom of Denmark for the implementation of supported decision-
making systems with appropriate and proportionate safeguards across all levels of
national and municipal governments.
Access to justice (art. 13)
41.
The Committee is concerned about barriers to access to justice for persons with
disabilities across Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, including:
(a)
Insufficient provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations in
judicial and administrative proceedings for the application of law, to facilitate effective
participation in all aspects of the judicial system and in all legal proceedings;
(b)
Limited knowledge and training within the administrative and judicial system
about the rights of persons with disabilities, including the provision of individualised support,
to ensure effective participation and disability and gender responsive interviewing techniques
for children and adults with disabilities.
42.
Recalling the International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for
Persons with Disabilities prepared in 2020 by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of
persons with disabilities and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Disability
and Accessibility, and endorsed by the Committee, the Committee recommends that
Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, in close consultation with and with the
active involvement of organizations of persons with disabilities, develop a strategy to
ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities, in administrative and
judicial proceedings for the application of law, covering all functions in such
proceedings, including the following:
(a)
Measures to amend procedural rules in criminal, civil, labour and
administrative law that ensure procedural and age-appropriate accommodation for
persons with disabilities, covering all functions, such as parties to a case, judges,
magistrates, administrators, clerks and other court personnel, on a no-cost basis;
(b) Appropriate training for persons in the administrative and judicial system,
including members of the judiciary, administrators, police officers, prosecutors and
prison personnel, on the application of the rights under the Convention, to ensure the
effective guarantee of access to justice.
Liberty and security of the person (art. 14)
43.
The Committee is concerned that：
(a)
Legislation in the Kingdom of Denmark, including the Danish Act No. 655 of
2017 on the Use of Coercion in Somatic Treatment of Permanently Incapacitated Persons,
allows, under certain preconditions, for the detention and compulsory treatment of persons
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with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities who resist treatment and are deemed incapable
of giving informed consent;
(b)
Children and adolescents with disabilities can, on welfare grounds, be placed
in secure residential institutions under prison-like conditions that also house youth detained
for crime-related reasons;
(c)
Denmark distinguishes between punishment and treatment, and Greenland
between criminal sanctions and treatment, depending on whether or not the accused persons
are considered
“unfit
to stand trial” on account of their impairment, and that a conviction to
treatment is often longer than a sentence to ordinary punishment for the same crime would
be, or even of indefinite duration.
44.
Recalling the Guidelines on the right to liberty and security of persons with
disabilities
9
and its Guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies
10
, the
Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with and
with the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative
organizations:
(a)
Repeal all laws and abolish all practices that allow for the deprivation of
liberty on the basis of impairment and forced treatment, including mental health laws
and institutionalization policies;
(b)
Amend relevant legislation to ensure that children and adolescents with
disabilities cannot be placed in secure residential institutions on welfare grounds;
(c)
Initiate a structural review of the procedures used to sanction persons
with disabilities deemed unfit to stand trial, and ensure that they do not get convicted
to longer sentences than other persons, and that all guarantees of fair trial, such as the
presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, and others, are fully guaranteed;
(d)
Review all cases of deprivation of liberty of persons with disabilities
currently in hospitals, institutions and other places of deprivation of liberty, due to a
non-criminal court or administrative order, and transfer them to a community-based
places of residence, freely chosen and with access to a range of community-based
support services;
(e)
Recognizing
the Committee’s joint open letter with the Special
Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities of June 2021
11
and in its future
participation in any process for an additional protocol or recommendation to the
Oviedo Convention, do not support coercive measures and promote to establish a non-
coercive framework on mental health.
Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
(art. 15)
45.
The Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The prevalence and increasing use of coercion, forced treatment and restrictive
practices in the State party, including physical and chemical restraints against children and
adults with disabilities in social care and psychiatric institutions;
(b)
Insufficient and ineffective oversight mechanisms across Denmark for children
and adults with disabilities in places of detention, social care and psychiatric institutions, and
a lack of implementation of recommendations from existing oversight mechanisms, including
the national preventive mechanism.
9
10
11
A/72/55, annex.
CRPD/C/5.
See
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohchr.org%2Fsites%2Fd
efault%2Ffiles%2FDocuments%2FHRBodies%2FCRPD%2FOpen_letter_Add_Prot_Ovi_Conv.docx
&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK
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46.
Recalling its Guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in emergencies
12
, the
Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with and
with the active involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative
organizations, take all legislative, administrative and judicial measures necessary:
(a)
To prohibit the use of coercion, forced treatment and restrictive practices
for children and adults with disabilities still in places of detention, social care and
psychiatric institutions in the Kingdom of Denmark, establish alternative non-coercive,
age-appropriate support measures that respect the will and preference, dignity and
rights of persons with disabilities, and provide training to all medical and non-medical
staff on these measures;
(b)
To establish robust oversight mechanisms and strengthen existing
oversight mechanisms across the Kingdom of Denmark to ensure regular inspections of
places of detention, social care and psychiatric institutions, ensure regular public
reporting to parliament and establish mechanisms to facilitate prompt implementation
of recommendations.
Freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse (art. 16)
47.
The Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The prevalence of many forms of violence against children and adults with
disabilities in institutions, including social care and psychiatric institutions, particularly the
prevalence of gender-based violence and the high incidence of sexual violence against
women and girls with disabilities in institutions;
(b)
The lack of accessible shelters and accessible procedures to obtain or retain
services for persons with disabilities, including personal assistance, while residing in shelters,
for all persons with disabilities, especially women and girls with disabilities;
(c)
The inadequate implementation of the legal and policy frameworks to prevent
and respond to exploitation, violence and abuse, including gender-based violence and abuse,
across the Kingdom of Denmark.
48.
Recalling its statement of 24 November 2021 on the elimination of gender-based
violence against women and girls with disabilities
13
, the Committee recommends that
the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with and with the active involvement of
persons with disabilities through their representative organizations, including
organizations of women and girls with disabilities, including Indigenous women and
girls with disabilities:
(a)
Further develop and implement comprehensive and effective violence
prevention and response action plans across the Kingdom of Denmark that are
underpinned by the principles and standards of the Convention, including through
measures for law and policy reform and development, the inclusion of culture, gender
and age specific requirements, responses that address all forms of violence against
children and adults with disabilities in all settings, including in institutions, community
awareness-raising strategies, access to justice, and the establishment of accessible
culture, gender and age appropriate supports and rehabilitation;
(b)
Render the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence applicable in the Faroe Islands;
(c)
Ensure that the mandates of monitoring and oversight mechanisms across
the Kingdom of Denmark, including the national preventive mechanism, extend to all
forms of detention and institutional settings where children and adults with disabilities
are detained or reside.
12
13
CRPD/C/5.
See https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2021/12/CRPD-
Statement-25_11_2021-End-violence-against-Women-1.pdf .
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Protecting the integrity of the person (art. 17)
49.
The Committee is concerned that legal and policy frameworks across the Kingdom of
Denmark allow for sterilisation, contraception and abortion procedures on women and girls
with disabilities under guardianship without their personal consent, including under the
sections 109 and 110 of the Health Act.
50.
The Committee recommends that legal and policy frameworks across the
Kingdom of Denmark are amended to prohibit sterilisation, contraception and abortion
procedures on all women and girls with disabilities without their informed, free, and
personal consent.
51.
The Committee is concerned that insufficient support is being provided to women
with disabilities, in particular women with disabilities in institutions, to participate in all
aspects of the IUD Inquiry in Greenland and to seek redress, and that the inquiry only
examines the issue up until 1991.
52.
The Committee recommends that reasonable accommodation and disability
specific supports are provided to women with disabilities, including women with
disabilities in institutions, to participate in all aspects of the IUD Inquiry in Greenland
and to seek redress, and that the inquiry is extended until the present day.
Liberty of movement and nationality (art. 18)
53.
The Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The lack of support for refugees and asylum seekers with intellectual and/or
psychosocial disabilities, and of persons with disabilities in refugee-like situations, in
exercising their legal capacity during the asylum process;
(b)
The marked decrease in the percentage of applicants with disabilities being
granted exemptions from the stringent requirements for Danish citizenship, including
knowledge and language tests.
54.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark:
(a)
Provide reasonable accommodation, procedural accommodation and
support to persons with disabilities during the whole duration of the procedure;
(b)
Effectively support refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities and
persons with disabilities in refugee-like situations in exercising their legal capacity,
including by providing legal assistance throughout their asylum application procedure;
(c)
Amend the rules on exemptions from requirements for citizenship for
persons with disabilities who cannot, due to their impairment, fulfil them, provide
persons with disabilities with the requisite procedural accommodations in the
citizenship application procedure, and implement these provisions.
Living independently and being included in the community (art. 19)
55.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of a comprehensive, multisectoral
deinstitutionalization strategy in the Kingdom of Denmark, and measures aiming towards
increased institutionalization of persons with disabilities, particularly measures on expanding
the circumstances under which persons with disabilities with high support requirements can
be moved to different residential facilities without their consent. It is also concerned about
the uneven scope of choice for persons with disabilities concerning the place of residence
across municipalities, the limited access to and/or withdrawal of personal assistant schemes
mainly affecting young persons with disabilities, deafblind persons and persons with
complex support requirements.
56.
Recalling its general comment No. 5 (2017) on living independently and being
included in the community, its guidelines on deinstitutionalization, including in
emergencies
14
, the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with
14
CRPD/C/5.
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disabilities on the transformation of services for persons with disabilities
15
, and its
previous recommendation
16
, the Committee recommends that the Kingdom of
Denmark, in close consultation with and with the active involvement of persons with
disabilities through their representative organizations:
(a)
Adopt multisectoral deinstitutionalization strategies for all persons with
disabilities, including women and children with disabilities and persons with intellectual
and/or psychosocial disabilities, with specific time frames and the requisite financial
resources, ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to housing alternatives in
their communities that are in keeping with their will and preference;
(b)
Take measures to close existing institution-like residences, including
group homes, and to prevent the relocation of persons with disabilities without their
free and informed personal consent;
(c)
Ensure that municipalities guarantee the right of all persons with
disabilities to choose their place of residence regardless of the type of impairment or the
complexity of support required; and provide the support required by persons with
disabilities to participate in education, employment, cultural activities or to take part
on social life and by avoiding reassessments.
57.
The Committee is concerned that:
(a)
A large number of persons with disabilities in Greenland either have to choose
to move to Denmark to seek adequate psychosocial and other supports, or are referred to
Danish residential facilities by authorities, due to the lack of specialized support and qualified
staff in Greenland, with the risk of being increasingly disconnected from their family,
language and culture.
(b)
Persons with disabilities in Greenland, in particular persons with intellectual
and/or psychosocial disabilities, who are sentenced to detention in a psychiatric institution
are often sent to an institution in Denmark, rendering visits by friends and family a near
impossibility.
58.
The Committee recommends that Greenland:
(a)
Further improve its efforts to provide quality support to persons with
intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities in Greenland, rendering relocations of
persons with disabilities to Denmark obsolete, and ensure that the measures taken are
culturally appropriate, considering that the vast majority of the population in
Greenland is Inuit;
(b)
Provide community-based housing and appropriate supports and ensure
access to justice on an equal basis with others.
Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information (art. 21)
59.
The Committee notes with concern that:
(a)
It is difficult to access sign language interpretation due to the shortage of sign
language interpreters, and that professionals working in nursing homes and residential
facilities are not systematically trained in the use of Danish Sign Language, limiting the
possibility of persons with hearing disabilities to express themselves and participate in
everyday life;
(b)
There are insufficient resources, particularly financial resources, for promoting
and enhancing the knowledge and use of Braille.
60.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark:
(a)
Take measures to guarantee the right to access interpretation in Danish
Sign Language in Denmark, Greenlandic Sign Language in Greenland and Faroese
Sign Language (Føroyskt Teknmál) on the Faroe Islands, especially through the
15
16
A/HRC/52/32.
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para.43
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training of a sufficient number of sign language interpreters, and provide the requisite
funding for the use of Danish Sign Language. It also recommends that the Kingdom of
Denmark take measures to ensure training for Danish Sign Language professionals
working in nursing homes and residential facilities.
(b)
Take measures to ensure adequate funding for promoting, preserving and
enhancing the knowledge and use of Braille, especially through the introduction of
common teaching methods.
Respect for privacy (art. 22)
61.
The Committee is concerned that no efforts have been made to amend the Psychiatric
Act, which allows psychiatric hospitals to transfer strictly private and confidential
information to third parties without the consent of the person concerned.
62.
The Committee recalls its previous recommendation
17
and urges Denmark to
amend the Psychiatric Act so as to prohibit the transfer of the private and confidential
information of patients in psychiatric hospitals to third parties without the consent of
the person concerned, in order to comply with the principle of respect for privacy. It
recommends the Faroe Islands and Greenland adopt analogous legislation.
Respect for home and the family (art. 23)
63.
The Committee is concerned about situations in which parents with disabilities receive
insufficient or belated support, which may significantly influence the assessment of their
parenting skills and, as a consequence, may deny them their right to exercise parental
responsibility. It is also concerned about the increase in the number of adoptions carried out
without the consent of the parents in recent years.
64.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark adopt legislative and
policy measures to ensure effective and timely support for parents with disabilities and
for parents of children with disabilities to raise their children in a family setting. It also
recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark further improve its measures to ensure that
the disability of a parent or the disability of a child is not a permissible ground for
adoption, and monitor the adoption process accordingly.
Education (art. 24)
65.
The Committee is concerned that the number of children attending school in
segregated school settings has increased in the last 10 years, and that barriers to inclusive
education, including the lack of reasonable accommodation and essential services, such as
assistive devices and personal assistance, have resulted in school refusal and involuntary
absence of children with disabilities, in particular students with intellectual disabilities and
autism; it is also concerned that students with disabilities in vocational schools drop out at a
much higher rate than their co-students without disabilities.
66.
Recalling its general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education,
the Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with
and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative
organizations:
(a)
Include children with disabilities in quality, inclusive education, and
remove the barriers that have prevented effective transition from special education to
quality inclusive education;
(b)
Address attitudinal barriers preventing inclusion of children with
disabilities in education, including by improving qualifications for teachers in inclusive
education methodologies and training tools, and undertaking organizational changes at
schools and system-wide;
(c)
Provide the requisite support structures, including sign language;
17
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para.51
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(d)
Produce a set of national guidelines for early identification of the risk of
students with disabilities to drop out of school and ensure equal access to education for
all children, on an equal basis with others, including by ensuring that students with
disabilities have the opportunity to take vocational education and disability-responsive
training.
Health (art. 25)
67.
The Committee is concerned at the information that the average life expectancy for
persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities is significantly lower than that of
the rest of the population; it is also concerned at information that persons with disabilities do
not participate in the national preventive health programmes on an equal basis with others,
including in screenings for cervical cancer, breast cancer and bowel cancer.
68.
Recalling its previous recommendation
18
, the Committee recommends that the
Kingdom of Denmark ensure that persons with disabilities, in particular persons with
intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities, have access to the highest attainable health,
on an equal basis with others. It also recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark take
measures, including outreach and accessibility measures, to increase participation of
persons with disabilities in public health programmes such as screenings for cervical
cancer, breast cancer, and bowel cancer.
Habilitation and rehabilitation (art. 26)
69.
The Committee is concerned about the insufficient access to habilitation and
rehabilitation services by persons with disabilities, and the insufficient adaptation of such
services to specific requirements.
70.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark take measures to
secure access for persons with disabilities to comprehensive and cross-sectoral
habilitation and rehabilitation services. It further recommends the Kingdom of
Denmark ensure that assistive devices and personnel with expertise in the specific
requirements of persons with disabilities are available.
Work and employment (art. 27)
71.
The Committee welcomes the various initiatives and amendments to reduce
discrimination and prejudice preventing persons with disabilities from accessing the labour
market, including the amendment of the Danish Act on Prohibition of Discrimination on the
Labour Market on the provision of reasonable accommodation in the labour market, designed
to improve and enhance the employment of persons with disabilities until 2025 in Denmark
(with 60% of 16–64-year-olds with disabilities as compared to 86% of persons without
disabilities employed in 2022). It notes, however, that the employment difference of 26%
gives rise for concern. It is also concerned that no long-term programs and measures have
been adopted to raise the awareness of employers on inclusion, to train social workers on
disability-specific expertise, or to adapt employment programs accessible to all persons with
disabilities, including seniors with disabilities, and render them disability-responsive.
72.
Recalling its general comment No. 8 (2022), the Committee recommends that the
Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation with and with the active involvement of
persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, adopt a long-term
employment strategy to promote full inclusion of persons with disabilities, including
women with disabilities in the open labour market, including:
(a)
economy;
Targeted, time-bound and financed action plans across all sectors of the
(b)
Awareness-raising measures against prejudice against persons with
disabilities;
(c)
Training of employment system staff, including human resource
personnel and career advisors, on specialised knowledge of disability;
18
CRPD/C/DNK/CO/1, para.57
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(d)
Provide disability-responsive support to persons with disabilities in their
search for employment and in their efforts toward entrepreneurship;
(e)
Ensure that older employees with disabilities, who have not yet reached
retirement age, have the possibility to stay in the workforce.
Adequate standard of living and social protection (art. 28)
73.
The Committee is concerned about the decreasing number of persons with disabilities
receiving financial benefits covering additional disability-related expenses under Section 100
of the Social Services Act, and the termination of such benefits when reaching retirement
age. It is also concerned that the Social Services Act does not allow for the grant of 15 hours
of accompaniment per month for activities outside the home to persons with disabilities older
than 67, even though it may be kept if it was granted before reaching the age of 67.
74.
The Committee recommends that, in close consultation with and the active
involvement of persons with disabilities through their representative organizations:
(a)
Denmark revise the Social Services Act to ensure that persons with
disabilities, including persons with disabilities who have reached retirement age, keep
their benefits for disability-related expenses and the provision of accompaniment;
(b)
end.
Participation in political and public life (art. 29)
75.
The Committee notes that the amendment to the Guardianship Act introduced a form
of partial
partial deprivation of a person’s legal capacity
which does not result in
incapacitation of the right to stand and vote in general elections and referendum; however, it
is concerned that
the full deprivation of a person’s legal capacity
is still in use and is still
depriving persons with disabilities of their political rights. The Committee is also concerned
that persons with disability have a significantly lower electoral turnout than other persons,
due, in part, to inaccessible polling stations, ballots, voter meetings and election information
and material.
76.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation
with and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities, through their
representative organizations:
(a)
Guarantee the right of all persons with disabilities to vote and to stand for
election without exception or exclusion;
(b)
Render polling stations and ballots accessible and provide electoral
information and material in accessible formats, and provide supports required by
persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities to effectively exercise their
right to vote.
Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport (art. 30)
77.
The Committee is concerned about the lack of measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities enjoy access to cultural material, television programmes, films, theatre and other
cultural activities, in accessible formats, and access to places of cultural performances or
services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas and libraries, tourism and sport services.
78.
The Committee recommends that the Kingdom of Denmark, in close consultation
with and with active involvement of persons with disabilities, through their
representative organizations:
(a)
Ensure that persons with disabilities have access to cultural material,
television programmes, films, theatre and other cultural activities, to places for cultural
performances or services, such as theatres, museums, cinemas and libraries, tourism
services and sport services;
The Faroe Islands and Greenland enact analogous legislation to the same
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(b)
Improve on its efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly
children with disabilities, can effectively exercise their right to participate in cultural
life, recreation, leisure and sport on an equal basis with others.
79.
The Committee is concerned that Greenland and the Faroe Islands have not yet ratified
the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind,
Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled of June 27, 2013.
80.
The Committee recommends Greenland and the Faroe Islands ratify the
Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind,
Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled of June 27, 2013 and implement it.
C.
Specific obligations (arts. 31–33)
Statistics and data collection (art. 31)
81.
While noting the efforts to collect statistical data on persons with disabilities in the
Kingdom of Denmark, including through the Survey of Health, Impairment and Living
Conditions, the Committee is concerned that:
(a)
Despite data collection through the SHILD surveys and the contributions to the
development of indicators for living conditions by organisations of persons with disabilities
and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, there are still insufficient systematic
disaggregated data-collection and unified indicators concerning the rights of persons with
disabilities, and a lack of participation of persons with disabilities in designing data collection
systems;
(b)
The Living Conditions and Labour Market Surveys lack permanent funding,
and that the SHILD surveys did not receive funding in 2024.
82.
The Committee recommends that Denmark:
(a)
Use the Washington Group on Disability Statistics short set of questions
on functioning and the policy marker on the inclusion and empowerment of persons
with disabilities of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development, promote inclusivity and improve disability
data collection systems, with data disaggregated by race, age, sex, gender, ethnicity,
urban or rural location and migrant situation (CRPD/AZE/CO/2-3;
CRPD/C/MRT/CO/1; CRPD/PRY/CO/2-3), and closely consult with and actively
involve persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the
design of data collection and statistics.
(b)
Provide the Living Conditions Survey, the Labour Market Survey and the
SHILD surveys with sufficient permanent funding.
83.
The Committee is concerned at the very scarce statistical data on persons with
disabilities, including women and children with disabilities, the barriers they encounter, and
their living conditions in Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
84.
The Committee recommends that Greenland and the Faroe Islands, in close
consultation with and with the active involvement of persons with disabilities, through
their representative organizations, systematically develop data collection and statistical
and research systems on persons with disabilities, the barriers they encounter, and their
living conditions, that can form as a basis to formulate and implement policies that give
effect to the Convention.
International cooperation (art. 32)
85.
The Committee recognizes that Denmark started reporting on the Disability Inclusion
Marker from the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD in its international co-
operation activities. It remains, however, concerned that the reported share of development
assistance that includes persons with disabilities remains low and is not sufficiently supported
by evidence. It is also concerned about only partial inclusion of disability in its international
cooperation framework and about insufficient close consultation with and the active
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involvement of persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the
development of international cooperation strategies and programmes.
86.
The Committee recommends that Denmark ensure that its development
assistance adequately include persons with disabilities, that it adopt concrete measures
to implement the European Consensus on Development to further advance the rights of
persons with disabilities, and ensure close consultation with and active involvement of
persons with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the design of
international cooperation agreements and programmes, specifically in the
implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
the Sustainable Development Goals.
National implementation and monitoring (art. 33)
87.
The Committee is concerned about:
(a)
The limited extent to which a coordination mechanism has been implemented
in the Faroe Islands and in Greenland;
(b)
The uncertainties about the fulfilment of the Paris Principles and the
involvement and full participation of persons with disabilities through their representative
organizations of the new monitoring mechanism on the Faroe Islands starting operation on
January 1, 2025;
(c)
The lack of a monitoring mechanism fulfilling the requirements of the Paris
Principles in which persons with disabilities through their representative organizations can
fully participate in Greenland.
88.
Recalling its guidelines on independent monitoring frameworks and their
participation in the work of the Committee
19
, the Committee recommends that:
(a)
The Faroe Islands and Greenland establish focal points that effectively
coordinate the implementation of the Convention within their respective governments;
(b)
The Faroe Islands apply with the Global Alliance of National Human
Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to accredit their newly created monitoring mechanism
with A-status;
(c)
Greenland establish a mechanism monitoring the implementation of the
Convention that fulfils the Paris Principles Relating to the National Human Rights
Institutions and apply with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
(GANHRI) to accredit their newly created monitoring mechanism with A-status.
IV.
Follow-up
Dissemination of information
89.
The Committee emphasizes the importance of all the recommendations
contained in the present concluding observations. With regard to urgent measures that
must be taken, the
Committee would like to draw the State party’s attention to the
recommendations contained in paragraphs 8 on incorporation of the Convention, 40 on
legal capacity, and 58 on living independently.
90.
The Committee requests the State party to implement the recommendations
contained in the present concluding observations. It recommends that the State party
transmit the concluding observations for consideration and action to members of the
Government and Parliament, officials in relevant ministries, local authorities and
members of relevant professional groups, such as education, medical and legal
professionals, as well as to the media, using modern social communication strategies.
91.
The Committee strongly encourages the State party to involve civil society
organizations, in particular organizations of persons with disabilities, in the
preparation of its periodic report.
19
CRPD/C/1/Rev.1, Annex.
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92.
The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding
observations widely, including to non-governmental organizations and organizations of
persons with disabilities, and to persons with disabilities themselves and members of
their families, in national and minority languages, including sign language, and in
accessible formats, including Easy Read, and to make them available on the government
website on human rights.
Next periodic report
93.
The State party has opted to report under the simplified reporting procedure for
its periodic reports. Under the simplified reporting procedure, the Committee will
transmit to the State party a list of issues prior to reporting at least one year prior to 24
August, 2031, the date by which the State
party’s fourth and fifth
periodic reports are
due. The replies of the State party to that list of issues will constitute its combined
periodic reports.
17