Greenland's Justice Minister Addresses Genocide Allegation Findings

Greenlandic Justice Minister Marianne Paviasen stated that the government cannot conclude whether genocide was committed against the Inuit community regarding the use of forced contraception in the 1960s and 70s. "We cannot say, on behalf of the government, whether there was genocide," Paviasen told reporters, adding that the issue remains open for debate. Two reports on the practice were released on Friday, following Denmark's apology for the treatment of Inuit women and girls in its autonomous territory. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen announced the establishment of a "reconciliation commission," while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen assured that both governments would collaborate on the matter. Denmark has enacted a compensation law to provide 300,000 Danish crowns (£34,404; $46,800) to each woman affected by the policy. National archives indicate that between 1966 and 1970, 4,500 Greenlandic women and girls, some as young as 13, had intra-uterine devices (IUDs) implanted under a birth-control program administered by Danish doctors. Many women have reported being fitted with an IUD without their knowledge or consent, leading to a significant slowdown in Greenland's population growth. Frederiksen issued an apology last August to the affected Greenlandic women and their families for "systematic discrimination." In 2024, former Greenland Prime Minister Mute B Egede referred to the practice as "genocide." The territory tasked a panel of four experts to determine whether human rights violations occurred and if they met the genocide definition. However, the panel was divided, with two members resigning and producing a separate report. The remaining experts, Alaskan lawyer Dalee Sambo Dorough and University of Copenhagen law professor Miriam Cullen, concluded that while the rights of Inuit women had been violated, they could not definitively state that genocide occurred based solely on contraceptive practices. They noted that genocidal intent by Denmark could be inferred based on evidence outside their report, such as the removal of Inuit children to be raised by Danish families. The rival report by Jonas Christoffersen and Jensine Nedergaard acknowledged that women had been wronged but found no evidence of intent to destroy the Greenlandic population. Paviasen remarked that the two reports were contradictory, with one denying genocide and the other suggesting its possibility. Henriette Berthelsen, a woman affected by the forced contraception policy, criticized the reports for lacking Greenlandic Inuit experts. She emphasized that the issue is personal and about her right to self-determination. Inger Platou, another affected woman, recounted waking up from a minor operation to find an IUD inserted without her consent, stating, "It turns out we were treated like animals." She added that complications from the coil left her unable to conceive. Frederiksen reiterated the importance of jointly addressing the political process with Greenland's government. Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953 and gained home rule in 1979, with Denmark overseeing its healthcare system until 1992. The Inuit, or mixed Danish and Inuit, constitute nearly 90% of Greenland's population of 56,000. The birth-control campaign aimed to control the territory's population, which had increased significantly since the 1950s due to modernization and improved healthcare. The campaign was deemed successful in 1970, as fertility rates fell sharply from seven children per woman to 2.3 between 1966 and 1974.