Greenland forced contraception report to assess genocide

A Greenlandic commission is due to present a report Friday on whether Denmark's forced contraception campaign against thousands of Inuit women constituted genocide.

The campaign ran from the 1960s to 1990. More than 4,000 Greenlandic women were forced to wear a contraceptive coil, or intrauterine device, in the vast majority of cases without their consent or their parents' consent if they were minors.

Greenland's government will decide how to proceed after the conclusions are presented. The commission was created in August 2024 to examine the legal implications of the campaign.

The four appointed experts were unable to agree on one approach and produced two reports, almost six months behind schedule.

On Thursday, Denmark's parliament agreed that women affected by the forced contraception campaign can claim compensation from Copenhagen. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen presented Denmark's official apology last year.

The case has revived trauma for survivors. Henriette Berthelsen, one of the victims, said the process was flawed because no Greenlandic Inuit were appointed as experts, and she has called for a Truth and Reconciliation commission.