Greenland Forced Contraception Program: Experts Divided on Genocide Claim

An expert group tasked with investigating Greenland's forced contraception program has fractured, releasing two conflicting reports on whether the campaign constituted genocide. The program, implemented from 1966 to 1991, primarily during the 1960s and 70s, involved fitting intrauterine devices and administering contraceptive injections to at least 4,000 Greenlandic women and girls, often without their consent. The youngest recipients were reportedly as young as 12.

While both reports agree that the forced contraception violated women's rights, including their right to privacy, they disagree on the genocide classification. A 2025 Danish-Greenlandic study indicated the program's goal was to lower birth rates and family sizes, a policy Danish officials deemed necessary for improving living conditions in Greenland. Some women experienced severe infections and infertility as a result of the procedures.

One report, authored by Alaskan lawyer Dalee Sambo Dorough and former Inuit Circumpolar Council leader, and Copenhagen law professor Miriam Cullen, did not conclude that genocide had occurred but did not entirely rule it out. They argued that genocide cannot be defined solely by contraceptive measures but must consider other practices, such as the transfer of Inuit children to Danish families. This pair suggested Denmark may have violated a UN convention by failing to act sufficiently after learning of the program's potential to reduce a specific group's birth rate as early as 1969.

The other report, from former Danish Institute for Human Rights director Jonas Christoffersen and psychologist Jensine Nedergaard, found no evidence that anyone intended to exterminate Greenland's population. Greenland plans to establish a truth and reconciliation commission to further investigate the matter. The final decision on the genocide question, the experts noted, rests with the courts.