World News
Greenland to form commission after reports split on whether forced contraception was genocide
Expert reports differed on whether a decades-long Danish contraceptive campaign targeting Greenlandic Inuit women constituted genocide.
The short version
- Greenland is establishing a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate a forced contraceptive campaign conducted from the 1960s to the 1990s.
- A four-member expert panel commissioned by Greenland was unable to agree on whether the policy constituted genocide.
- At least 4,000 Greenlandic Inuit women and girls were given IUDs or injections, often without their consent, leading to widespread reproductive complications.
- The Danish parliament recently agreed to pay affected women compensation of up to 300,000 Danish crowns ($46,758) each following an official apology.
Key facts
- From the 1960s to the 1990s, at least 4,000 Greenlandic Inuit women and girls as young as 12 were given intrauterine devices or contraceptive injections, often without their knowledge or consent.[Al Jazeera]
- A joint Danish-Greenlandic inquiry found that Danish authorities designed the campaign to lower birth rates in an effort to improve social and living conditions.[Al Jazeera]
- Greenland's government appointed an expert panel in 2024 to examine the program, but two reports failed to reach a consensus on whether the actions met the definition of genocide.[Al Jazeera]
- Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen announced a truth and reconciliation commission focused on establishing facts rather than placing blame.[Al Jazeera]
- Denmark's parliament agreed to offer up to 300,000 Danish crowns ($46,758) in compensation to each affected woman, building on an apology issued by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen last year.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- Expert opinions remain divided on whether the forced birth control program legally constitutes genocide, prompting the Greenlandic Siumut Party to call for a determination by an independent international court.[Al Jazeera]