Jan Egeland attacks Denmark’s asylum policy: “Stingy, petty, and hypocritical”
Denmark's recent law that regulates establishing reception centers for Denmark's asylum seekers outside Europe is contrary to international law, NRC's general secretary warns.
Denmark’s recent law that regulates establishing reception centers for Denmark’s asylum seekers outside Europe is contrary to international law, NRC’s general secretary warns.
Jan Egeland says the Mette Fredriksen government’s law is the most “stingy, petty, and hypocritical” law he has seen in Nordic politics and a serious threat to international work on refugees, newspaper Politiken writes.
The idea behind the law is that people who come to Denmark to seek asylum are sent to a third country while their asylum application is being processed.
“The world’s poorest countries, Lebanon, Rwanda, Jordan, must keep the borders open for women and children who are bleeding, while the Danes will sit in Nyhavn with beer and pork roast and enjoy one of the world’s best welfare schemes all alone,” Egeland noted.
Tesfaye: I am proud
Denmark’s Minister of Immigration and Integration, Mattias Tesfaye, strongly disagrees with the criticism.
“Denmark is neither stingy nor petty. We are one of quite a few countries that live up to the UN’s goal of development aid. It is about using the resources to help as many people as possible. We are in the process of realizing this, and I am proud of that,” Tesfaye wrote.
The controversial law was passed in the Danish parliament on June 3.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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