“The complaint was filed this morning (Monday). My clients chose to do so because they received no response to their request for compensation in October,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mads, told AFP. Pramming. “Their human rights have been violated, they are proof of that,” he added.
At the end of the 1960s, Denmark implemented a contraceptive policy to limit the birth rate in the Arctic territory which, although it had no longer been a colony since 1953, remained under the supervision of Copenhagen.
A request for compensation of 40,200 euros
A series of podcasts based on national archives and broadcast in spring 2022 by Danish radio and television DR revealed the scale of this campaign at a time when Denmark and Greenland, which acquired the status of autonomous territory in 2009, are exploring their past relationship.
In October, 67 women filed a claim for compensation of 300,000 crowns (40,200 euros) each. “Since then, more women have come forward. The oldest of them is 85 years old,” explained Mads Pramming.
4,500 young people have had an IUD inserted
In the 1960s and 1970s, some 4,500 young Inuit underwent IUD insertion without their consent or that of their family. A large number of women were unaware of having a contraceptive device and, until recently, Greenlandic gynecologists found IUDs in women who were unaware of their presence.
Launched last year, a commission of inquiry into Danish policy towards Greenland is due to publish its findings in 2025. “Regarding their cases, this commission and its outcome are not significant. It will not rule on the fact of know if their rights have been violated, but justice will be able to rule,” added the lawyer.
In 2022, six Inuit had obtained apologies and compensation, more than 70 years after being separated from their families to participate in an experiment aimed at forming a Danish-speaking elite on the immense Arctic island.