Greenland has announced the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission regarding a forced contraception program that Denmark carried out on Inuit women for decades.
The decision followed the publication on August 28, 2026, of two expert reports. Specialists agreed that the campaign violated the rights of women and indigenous peoples, but differed in assessing whether it could be classified as genocide.
From the 1960s to 1990, more than four thousand Greenlandic women, including girls from the age of 12, received intrauterine devices or injections, often without their consent or that of their parents. Some were subsequently unable to have children.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen emphasized that the priority is to begin the healing process. "We will establish a reconciliation commission," he stated, expressing readiness to cooperate with Copenhagen.
Greenland's Minister of Justice Marianne Paviasen noted: the government cannot assert on behalf of the authorities whether there was genocide. This question remains a subject of debate.
The Danish parliament has already approved compensation payments to victims — 300 thousand kroner to each woman. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen previously offered a formal apology and supported the idea of working together on the commission.
Experts presented two separate reports: one asserts that there was no genocide, the other speaks of possible signs or that Denmark did not prevent the risk. A commission of four members worked from August 2024.
How will this commission affect relations between Greenland and Denmark in the long term?
The contraception program operated during a period when Denmark was responsible for healthcare in Greenland. Many victims remained silent for decades, and only in recent years have they begun to publicly share their experiences.
The new commission, according to Nielsen, should not seek to assign blame but to reveal the truth for genuine reconciliation and the future of society.
