Greenland government signals no immediate legal action over coil campaign

Greenland’s government has not indicated that it intends to pursue a legal case over the coil campaign before the International Court of Justice, DR reported. Greenland would need to convince Denmark if the question of whether the campaign constituted genocide is to be tested by the court.

Two reports published by the Greenlandic government on Friday reached different conclusions about the human rights aspects of the campaign. One rejected the claim that it amounted to genocide, while the other did not rule it out.

The campaign involved Danish authorities placing contraceptive coils in thousands of Greenlandic women and girls, some as young as 13. The women have said that in many cases the procedures were carried out without their consent.

One of the reports concluded that there was “reasonable grounds to assume” that the Danish state had violated human rights in connection with the so-called family planning initiative.

However, whether the campaign meets the definition of genocide remains unresolved. Political scientist Dalee Sambo Dorough, an expert in the human rights of Indigenous peoples, and Miriam Cullen, an associate professor of law at the University of Copenhagen and affiliated with the Danish Institute for Human Rights, wrote that only a court with the jurisdiction, authority and resources to examine all available evidence could make a final determination.

At a press conference, Greenland’s government leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, gave no indication that Greenland would seek to have the matter tested at the International Court of Justice. He said it was not for the Greenlandic government to decide whether the campaign could be described as genocide based on the reports.

Instead, Nielsen emphasised a more conciliatory approach. He highlighted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s apology on behalf of the state last year and the compensation scheme adopted by the Danish parliament. He also proposed working with Denmark to establish a reconciliation commission.

“We want to cooperate with the Danish government on that issue. It should not assign blame, but uncover the truth with a view to reconciliation,” he said.

Astrid Nonbo Andersen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said Nielsen’s approach was not surprising. She said it reflected his existing political strategy of seeking dialogue and finding a form of unity within the Danish Realm.

Uullat Bach, a Greenlandic woman who said she did not consent to receiving a coil or other contraception, said she was disappointed by the government’s lack of clarity about the state’s responsibility.

She welcomed the compensation scheme adopted by the Danish parliament, under which Greenlandic women can apply to Patienterstatningen for 300,000 kroner if they received contraception without consent between 1960 and 1991.

“That chapter is finished for me, but as a society I am curious about what they will pursue legally,” Bach said.

Timeline of the coil campaign

During the 1950s and 1960s, Greenland’s population grew. The number of births peaked in 1966, when 1,781 children were born, nearly 80 per cent more than 15 years earlier.

Between 1966 and 1970, 4,500 coils were inserted at the request of the Ministry for Greenland and the Danish National Board of Health. At the time, Greenland had about 9,000 women of childbearing age.

In 1970, the law was changed so doctors in Greenland could advise girls from the age of 15 about contraception without their parents’ consent. That year, Greenland’s minister, A.C. Normann, told the Danish parliament that the birth rate was falling and that the coil campaign was a significant reason.

In 1974, the Danish state became aware that it could face criticism over the coils at a United Nations conference. The conference criticised family planning in formerly colonised countries, including Greenland, and the UN called for everyone to have the right to decide how many children to have and when.