The Indigenous World 2022: Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)

Written on 01 April 2022. Posted in Greenland

Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) has been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1979. The population is 88.9% Greenlandic Inuit out of a total of 56,523 inhabitants (October 2021).^[1] The majority of Greenlandic Inuit refer to themselves as Kalaallit.

Ethnographically, they consist of three major groups: the Kalaallit of West Greenland, who speak Kalaallisut; the Iivit of Kangia (East Greenland), who speak Iivi oraasia (East Greenlandic); and the Inughuit/Avanersuarmiut near Thule, who speak Inuktun. The majority of the people of Greenland speak the Inuit language, Kalaallisut, which is the official language, while the second official language of the country is Danish. Greenland’s diverse economy includes subsistence hunting, commercial fisheries, tourism, and emerging efforts to develop the oil and mining industries. Approximately 50% of the national budget is financed by Denmark through a block grant. In 2009, Greenland entered a new era with the inauguration of its Act on Self-Government, which gave the country further self-determination within the Kingdom of Denmark. Together with the Danish Constitution, the Self-Government Act articulates Greenland’s constitutional position in the Kingdom of Denmark. The Self-Government Act recognises the Greenlandic people as a people under international law with the right to self-determination. Greenland has a public government, and it aims to establish a sustainable economy in order to achieve greater independence. Greenland’s self-government consists of the Inatsisartut (Parliament), which is the elected legislature, and the Naalakkersuisut (Government), which is responsible for overall public administration, thereby forming the executive branch. The Inatsisartut has 31 elected members. The Government of Greenland adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) upon its ratification in 2007 and subsequent governments have committed to its implementation. Greenland and Denmark jointly prepare reports regarding good practice on implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, as described in the UNDRIP and other international human rights instruments. The Government of Greenland had a decisive influence over the Kingdom of Denmark’s ratification of ILO Convention 169 in 1996, as Greenland has prioritised actions to establish the Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights to land and resources in their territories.

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Only one-third of the population of Kalaallit Nunaat are women.^[2] This gender imbalance is caused in part by higher levels of female emigration compared to men but also by a higher rate of male immigration.^[3] The Self-Government Act recognises the Greenlandic people as a people under international law with the right to self-determination and, as such, Indigenous and non-indigenous women have equal rights and can participate in all decision-making processes.

General and municipal elections were held on 6 April 2021 in a snap election. These elections were held after a very public internal struggle within the Siumut party, which led to waning trust in Prime Minister Kim Kielsen, and public outcry from the Greenlandic people and the opposition party Inuit Ataqatigiit regarding the rare earth mineral mining project in Kuannersuit in South Greenland, where uranium was planned to be mined.

The new Government of Greenland, led by Inuit Ataqatigiit with Múte B. Egede as the new Prime Minister, later announced an enforcement of the zero-tolerance policy regarding uranium,^[4] as well as an end to oil exploration in Greenland,^[5] thus setting their sights on climate and sustainability.            

A concerningly low number of women ran for public office. Only some 30% of the candidates were women and this was also reflected in the election results.

In terms of tertiary education, Greenlandic women are much more likely to go on to higher education than their male counterparts.^[6] According to Statistics Greenland, women attain an education above lower-secondary level more often than men. One in every 10 men chooses to commence higher education while for women this is 1 in every 5.^[7] Despite women’s higher level of education, there is a need to further focus on gender equality, prevention of sexism and harassment in public office, and the political environment. Formally, legislative measures have been taken to promote gender equality but legislation alone is not enough to change the predominant attitudes.^[8]

On 1 January 2021, Greenland adopted the Danish maternity equalisation scheme for maternity, paternity, and parental leave for self-employed persons, aimed at promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and extending the period of maternity leave during pregnancy from two to four weeks and the shared parental leave quota from 17 to 21 weeks, thus reducing the gender gap.^[9]

There is a shortage of housing in Greenland and people sometimes have to wait for accommodation for many years. Four groups of homeless people have been identified in Greenland, some of which are gender-based. One consists of women who are single, who may have lost custody of their children and who are victims of abuse or domestic violence. Women are an especially neglected group in Greenlandic social policies and services. This can be seen in the level of emigration among women, in particular, who migrate to Denmark to access support services that are lacking in Greenland.^[10]

A Westernised gender ideology has emerged, a paternalistic and patriarchal remnant of the colonial era, and one of the key issues dominating discourse on gender equality in modern Greenland is that of gender-based violence. The level of violence in Greenland is significantly higher than that in Denmark or the Faroe Islands, as 24.7 out of every 1,000 citizens were exposed to violence in 2020, according to the incidents reported to the Greenland Police. The figures are not disaggregated by gender, however.^[11] According to a report from 2019, women aged 25-34 accounted for the largest proportion of adult survivors of violence in the previous year (11%).^[12]

Reports also show that domestic violence against children and sexual abuse in childhood is a substantial problem. According to reports, 28% of the youngest group of children have been exposed to domestic violence, and 24% of 15 to 29‐year‐olds have experienced “forced or attempted forced sexual activity before they turned 18”.^[13] The National Advocacy for Children’s Rights, MIO, issued a press release in March 2021 regarding alcohol abuse and its strong correlation with violence and abuse of children. The government banned the sale of alcohol in some municipalities to combat the spread of COVID-19 during parts of 2021.^[14]

According to the Greenland Police, 13.3 out of every 1,000 citizens were sexually assaulted in 2020. The equivalent number was 1.1 for the Faroe Islands and 1.1 for Denmark.^[15] These figures are not disaggregated by gender, however.

The Council of Gender Equality in Greenland was established in 2013,^[16] and has the task of promoting equality between men and women in Greenlandic society. The Gender Equality Council must:

• Monitor the application of the law and how it is implemented in society.
• Give statements at the request of the Naalakkersuisut, cf. sections 16-17 of the Gender Equality Act. The opinions must be publicly available.
• Initiate activities of an informative and debate-creating nature.
• Act as an advisory body for the public administration and its institutions, private companies, and individuals in society.^[17]

Throughout 2021, the Council participated in the public gender equality debate on sexism and sexual harassment in public office^[18] and conducted information campaigns on equality and sexism.

The Human Rights Council of Greenland and the Danish Institute for Human Rights made recommendations on the topic for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the summer of 2021, and made the following recommendations regarding Kalaallit Nunaat:

• Strengthen initiatives against violence and repercussions of violence and coordinate with initiatives against substance abuse;
• Take initiatives to introduce legislative measures on general protection from discrimination on all generally recognised grounds, including gender, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion, both inside and outside the labour market, including by establishing an independent appeals board;
• Ensure data collection and analysis of violence against children and women in close relationships, including persons with disabilities.^[19]

In CEDAW’s Concluding observations to Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, the CEDAW Committee made similar recommendations, and added these specific recommendations on legal frameworks:

• “…introduce the consent-based definition of rape in Greenland…”
• “…extend the application of the Istanbul Convention to Greenland…”^[20]

The Committee’s Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Denmark regarding women in Greenland were as following: that awareness should be raised among Greenlandic women of their rights under the Convention and of the legal remedies available to them to claim those rights.

The Committee was also concerned at the lack of incorporation of the Convention into national law, which may have adverse effects on women and girls in Kalaallit Nunaat.^[21]

The Committee recommended that a study on the gender-specific impact of climate change on women in Greenland, in particular women dependent on traditional Inuit livelihoods, should be conducted and included in future reports to the UN.^[22]

From the Human Rights Council of Greenland, we call for a strong focus on gender equality among Indigenous Peoples, a strong focus on women’s participation and gender diversity in leadership and for sharing knowledge of human rights approaches to deal with these issues among Indigenous Peoples around the world. We express our support to all Indigenous women and human rights defenders around the world that live under threats and violence. 

We stand with you in solidarity.

Qujanaq.

Qivioq Løvstrøm is the Chair of the Human Rights Council of Greenland, and lectures at the University of Greenland as an assistant professor. She has a Master’s in Cultural & Social History from Ilisimatusarfik, the University of Greenland (https://uk.uni.gl/). She has experience in working for the Human Rights Council of Greenland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  of Greenland as a Head of Section in the areas: Asia, Climate, Trade, Human Rights, and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. She is also a former Focal Point and later Co-chair of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus (GIYC) under the UN. For further information on the Human Rights Council of Greenland see: www.humanrights.gl.

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Notes and references 

^[1] Grønlands Statistik. “2021 Grønlands befolkning pr. 1. Oktober.” [Statistics Greenland. Population Estimate October 1, 2021.] Grønlands Statistik.  https://stat.gl/dialog/main.asp?lang=da&version=202104&sc=BE&subthemecode=O1&colcode=O.

^[2] Grønlands Statistik. “Grønland i tal 2021” [Statistics Greenland. Greenland in Figures 2021.9 Grønlands Statistik, 2021. https://stat.gl/publ/da/GF/2021/pdf/Gr%C3%B8nland%20i%20tal%202021.pdf.

^[3]. Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group. Pan-Arctic Report, Gender Equality in the Arctic, Phase 3.  Iceland, 2021, 178. https://da.uni.gl/media/6924917/pan-arctic_report-gea3-2021.pdf.

^[4] Naalakkersuisut - Government of Greenland. Mineral Resources Authority. “Greenland says yes to mining but no to uranium.”, May 7, 2021. https://govmin.gl/2021/05/greenland-says-yes-to-mining-but-no-to-uranium/

^[5] Naalakkersuisut -Government of Greenland. “Greenland haltsnNew oil exploration.” July 15, 2021. https://naalakkersuisut.gl/en/Naalakkersuisut/News/2021/07/1507_oliestop.

^[6] Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group. Pan-Arctic Report, Gender Equality in the Arctic, Phase 3. Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland. Iceland, Arctic Council, 2021, 178. https://da.uni.gl/media/6924917/pan-arctic_report-gea3-2021.pdf. pp.178.

^[7] Grønlands Statistik. “Grønland i tal 2021” [Statistics Greenland. Greenland in Figures 2021]Grønlands Statistik, 2021, 14. https://stat.gl/publ/da/GF/2021/pdf/Gr%C3%B8nland%20i%20tal%202021.pdf.

^[8] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). Virtual day of general discussion.  Human Rights Council of Greenland. Oral intervention for Part 2: “Effective participation, consultation and consent of indigenous women and girls in political and public life.”: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/DGD24June2021/NGOs/19.docx.

^[9] United Nations. “CEDAW/C/DNK/CO/9. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Denmark*.” pp. 2.  https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3906928/files/CEDAW_C_DNK_CO_9-EN.pdf.

^[10] Arctic Council Sustainable Development Working Group. Pan-Arctic Report, Gender Equality in the Arctic, Phase 3. Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland. Iceland, Arctic Council, 2021, 178. https://da.uni.gl/media/6924917/pan-arctic_report-gea3-2021.pdf. pp.179.

^[11] Grønlands Politi. “Årsstatistik 2020 Grønlands Politi.” [Yearly Statistics 2020 Greenland Police.] p. 9. https://politi.gl/statistik-og-udgivelser/aarsstatistik

^[12] Viskum Lytken Larsen, Christina and Peter Bjerregaard. Vold og seksuelle overgreb i Grønland. [Violence and sexual abuse in Greenland.]. Statens Institut for Folkesundhed (SIF), 2019: 2. https://www.sdu.dk/da/sif/rapporter/2019/vold_og_seksuelle_overgreb_i_groenland.

^[13] Viskum Lytken Larsen, Christina, Charlotte Brandstrup Hansen, Christine Ingemann, Marit Eika Jørgensen, Ingelise Olesen, Ivalu Katajavaara Sørensen, Anders Koch, Vibeke Backer and Peter Bjerregaard. Befolkningsundersøgelsen i Grønland 2018 – Levevilkår, livsstil og helbred. Oversigt over indikatorer for folkesundheden. [The Greenlandic Population Survey 2018 – living standards, lifestyle and health. Overview of indicators for the public health.]

 Statens Institut for Folkesundhed, 2018: 17-18.

https:// www.sdu.dk/da/sif/rapporter/2019/befolkningsundersoegelsen_i_groenland.

^[14] MIO. Tusagassiorfinnut Nalunaarut – Pressemeddelelse [Press Release]:  “Se bort fra øllen, pas på dit barn”, lyder det klare budskab fra et barn til MIO.” [“Ignore the beer, take care of your child", is the clear message from a child to MIO.] February 15, 2021. https://mio.gl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Se-bort-fra-ollen-pas-pa-dit-barn-lyder-det-klare-budskab-fra-et-barn-til-MIO.pdf

^[15] Grønlands Politi. “Årsstatistik 2020 Grønlands Politi.” [Yearly Statistics 2020 Greenland Police.], p. 10.  https://politi.gl/statistik-og-udgivelser/aarsstatistik.

^[16] “Inatsisartutlov nr. 3 af 29. november 2013 om ligestilling af mænd og kvinder.” [Greenlandic act no. 3 of 29 November 2013 on equal treatment of men and women.] https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/110444/137383/F-626309696/DNK110444.pdf.

^[17] Naligiissitaanissamut Siunnersuisoqatigiit - Ligestillingsrådet i Grønland. “Om Os.”, October 1, 2019. http://nali.gl/da/om-os/.

^[18] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). Virtual day of general discussion. The Human Rights Council of Greenland, 2021, Oral intervention for Part 2: “Effective participation, consultation and consent of indigenous women and girls in political and public life.” https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/DGD24June2021/NGOs/19.docx.

^[19] 79th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). General Discussion on the rights of indigenous women and girls. 24 June 2021. Joint statement by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and the Global Interfaith Network for People of All Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions. Delivered by: Andrea Ayala.

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/DGD24June2021/Oral_statements/Part1/28.DOCX

^[20] United Nations. “CEDAW/C/DNK/CO/9. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. - Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Denmark*.” p. 8. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3906928/files/CEDAW_C_DNK_CO_9-EN.pdf.

^[21] United Nations. “CEDAW/C/DNK/CO/9. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. - Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Denmark*.” pp. 5. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3906928/files/CEDAW_C_DNK_CO_9-EN.pdf.

^[22] United Nations. “CEDAW/C/DNK/CO/9. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. - Concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Denmark*”. Pp. 15. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3906928/files/CEDAW_C_DNK_CO_9-EN.pdf.