NUUK: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has arrived in Greenland to personally apologise to victims of a forced contraception programme that ran for more than three decades.
Frederiksen described the apology as an important marking of a dark chapter in our shared history in a social media post after landing.
Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz told AFP this would be a very important moment for these women, obviously, but also for society as a whole.
She noted the ceremony in Nuuk represented a second step in the reconciliation process after first announcing the apology in late August.
Danish authorities forced approximately 4,500 Inuit women to wear intrauterine devices without their consent from the late 1960s until 1992.
This campaign targeted about half of all Greenlandic women of child-bearing age with the explicit aim of reducing the Inuit birth rate.
Many victims suffered permanent sterility while nearly all experienced lasting physical or psychological problems.
The contraception scandal ranks among several sensitive issues affecting Denmark’s relationship with Greenland.
Other historical grievances include forced adoptions and the removal of Inuit children from their families.
Denmark has recently intensified efforts to improve relations with its strategically important Arctic territory.
US President Donald Trump’s expressed interest in acquiring Greenland for security reasons has increased external pressure.
Frederiksen previously issued a written apology for the contraception campaign at the end of August.
She also announced a reconciliation fund on Monday to compensate victims and others who suffered discrimination.
Lawyer Mads Pramming welcomed the compensation announcement for his 150 clients seeking damages from the Danish state.
Chemnitz observed that external pressure particularly from the United States is forcing Denmark to increase its efforts.
Historian Astrid Andersen noted Frederiksen’s apology breaks with predecessors who insisted Denmark had nothing to apologise for.
The scandal emerged publicly when a victim shared her traumatic experience in media reports several years ago.
A 2022 podcast series subsequently revealed the full scale of the systematic contraception campaign.
Danish and Greenlandic governments commissioned an independent inquiry whose findings have recently been completed.
Andersen emphasised the importance for Greenlanders to mourn as a community and receive full recognition of these events.
A separate investigation continues into whether the campaign legally constituted genocide with findings expected in early 2026. – AFP