Naalakkersuisut skal behandle to rapporter om Antikonceptionssagen

Naalakkersuisut nedsatte den 16. august 2024 en ekspertgruppe, der skulle under-søge og vurdere de menneskeretlige aspekter af Antikonceptionssagen. Ekspertgruppen bestod ved nedsættelsen af:

• Dalee Sambo Dorough (Alaska): Ekspert i lovgivning om oprindelige folks menneskerettigheder, og politolog. Hun fungerede som International Forperson i Inuit Circumpolar Council fra 2018-2022, der repræsenterer de 180.000 Inuit på tværs af det russiske Fjernøsten, Alaska, Canada og Grønland. Hun er tidligere ekspertmedlem i International Law Associations komité om FN-deklarationen og af FN’s Permanente Forum for Oprindelige Folks Spørgsmål, og er nu medlem af FN’s ekspertmekanisme for oprindelige folks rettigheder.

• Miriam Cullen (New Zealand): Lektor i jura ved Københavns Universitet, tilknyttet Det Danske Institut for Menneskerettigheder, med over 20 års ekspertise inden for international menneskerettighedsret og international strafferet i akademia, diplomati og juridisk praksis. Miriam har repræsenteret Australien ved FN’s Generalforsamling, bidraget til Den Internationale Straffedomstol, rådgiver FN-organer og ledet større finansierede forskningsinitiativer om international ret og menneskerettigheder, herunder i Grønland.

• Jonas Christoffersen (Danmark): Advokat, tidligere forsker ved Københavns Universitet, dommerfuldmægtig i Højesteret og konstitueret landsdommer. Blev i 2008 tildelt doktorgraden i jura på en afhandling om Den Europæiske Menneskerettighedsdomstol og blev derefter direktør for Institut for Menneskerettigheder indtil 2020.

• Jensine Nedergaard (Grønland/Danmark): PhD i Psykologi og tidl. chef-psykolog i Kommune Qeqertalik, tidl. kommunal repræsentant i Grønlands Kriminalpræventive råd. Har de seneste 15 år forsket og arbejdet konsultativt med ledelses- og perfomancepsykologiske perspektiver, dels som universitetsansat forsker, underviser og som selvstændig kulturpsykolog.
Ekspertgruppen bad i forbindelse med midtvejsrapportering i maj 2025, om udsættelse af aflevering af den endelige rapport, for at kunne inddrage materialet fra den dansk-grønlandske forskningsgruppes rapport, der udkom i september 2025. Dette blev imødekommet. Ny frist for aflevering af endelig rapport blev fastsat til den 31. januar 2026.

I hhv. december 2025 og januar 2026, meddelte to medlemmer, at de havde besluttet at træde ud af ekspertgruppen. Årsagen var faglige uoverensstemmelser med-lemmerne imellem, og til dels en bekymring for den geo-politiske situation. De to medlemmer, der trådte ud af ekspertgruppen, tilbød at komme med deres eget se-parate bidrag, hvilket blev godkendt.

Ekspertgruppen har efterfølgende afleveret deres rapport på engelsk og de to tidligere medlemmer af ekspertgruppen har afleveret en rapport på dansk.

På den baggrund har Naalakkersuisoq for Erhverv, Energi, Råstoffer, Justitsområdet og Ligestilling, Naaja H. Nathanielsen, besluttet følgende:

1. Begge rapporter vil blive behandlet af Naalakkersuisut og offentliggjort.
2. Rapporterne undergår aktuelt oversættelser, så de begge foreligger på grønlandsk, engelsk og dansk.
3. Grundet uenigheden om den faglige tilgang, er det besluttet at lade begge rapporter undergå et såkaldt peer-review, hvor metode og faglighed bedømmes af andre forskere. Årsagen til dette er, at Naalakkersuisut ikke ønsker, at der kan stilles spørgsmålstegn ved selve rapporternes faglighed.
4. Når der er gennemført peer-review, vil både ekspertgruppens rapport og den anden rapport blive fremlagt for Naalakkersuisut, Inatsisartut og offentligheden – i den rækkefølge.

Naalakkersuisoq for Erhverv, Energi, Råstoffer, Ligestilling og Justitsområdet, Naaja H. Nathanielsen udtaler:

”Jeg har stor forståelse for den interesse der er for ekspertgruppens arbejde. Det er et vigtigt bidrag til belysning af et meget svært emne. For mig er det vigtigste at de berørte kvinder, og samfundet som helhed, får belyst antikonceptionssagen i et menneskeretligt perspektiv. Jeg har derfor valgt at gå løsningsorienteret til den opståede uenighed, ved at modtage begge rapporter og lade begge rapporter gennemgå en peer review. Både ekspertgruppens rapport og den anden rapport, vil begge blive offentliggjort, hvorefter læserne kan danne sig deres eget indtryk.

Jeg har noteret mig, at der spekuleres i at rapportens udgivelse skulle være forsinket grundet de geopolitiske forhold. Dette kan jeg klart afvise. Der er tale om et fagligt bidrag til belysning af et mørkt kapitel i vores historie. Denne sag bør ikke bruges som våben i en politisk strid. Det vil være respektløst overfor sagens alvor. Et fællesskab skal kunne rumme uenigheder og ingen nutidige handlinger kan æn-dre fortiden. Naalakkersuisut står derfor ved behovet for at belyse sagen, og lade de faglige fund komme til offentlighedens kendskab.”

Dalee Sambo Dorough, Miriam Cullen, Jonas Christoffersen og Jensine Nedergaard har følgende fælles udtalelse:

”Vi sætter pris på, at Naalakkersuisut har besluttet at modtage begge rapporter, og har valgt at sende begge rapporter i peer review. For os har det vigtigste været at aflevere professionelle produkter vi hver især kan stå inde for. Vi ser frem til at kunne fremlægge for offentligheden, og besvare spørgsmål derefter.”

Der er aktuelt følgende tidsplan frem mod offentliggørelse:

Naalakkersuisut eller forskerne vil ikke udtale sig yderligere om rapporternes indhold før offentliggørelsen.

For yderligere information kontakt: Departementet for Erhverv, Råstoffer, Energi, Justitsområdet og Ligestilling. E-mail: asn@nanoq.gl telefon: +299 34 50 00.

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The Government of Greenland is to treat to reports regarding the Contraception Case.

On the 16th of August 2024 the Government of Greenland established an Expert Group that were to inquire and assess the human rights aspects of the Contraception Case. At the establishment the Expert Group consisted of:

• Dalee Sambo Dorough (Alaska): Expert in Indigenous Peoples’ human rights law and a political scientist. She served as International Chair of The Inuit Circumpolar Council from 2018–2022, which represents the 180,000 Inuit across Russian Far East, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. She is a former expert member of the International Law Association Committee on the UN Declaration and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and a current member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Miriam Cullen (New Zealand): Associate Professor of Law at the University of Copenhagen, and affiliated with the Danish Institute for Human Rights, with over 20 years of expertise in international human rights law and international criminal law across academia, diplomacy, and legal practice. Miriam has represented Australia at the UN General Assembly, contributed to the International Criminal Court, advised United Nations bodies, and has led major funded research initiatives on international law and human rights, including in Greenland.
• Jonas Christoffersen (Denmark): Lawyer; former researcher at the University of Copenhagen, judicial assistant at the Supreme Court, and acting national judge. In 2008 he was awarded a PhD in law for a dissertation on the European Court of Human Rights and subsequently served as Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights until 2020.
• Jensine Nedergaard (Greenland/Denmark): PhD in Psychology and former chief psychologist in Qeqertalik Municipality, and former municipal representative on Greenland’s Crime Prevention Council. For the past 15 years she has researched and worked consultatively on leadership and performance-psychological perspectives, both as a university-employed researcher and lecturer and as an independent cultural psychologist.
As part of their midterm status reporting, the Expert Group asked for a postponement of deliverance of the final report, in order to include the material from the report by Danish Greenlandic researchgroup, that was published in September 2025. This was accommodated. The new deadline for submitting the final report was 31st January 2026.

In December 2025 and in January 2026, to members announced, that they had decided to step out of the Expert Group. The reason being professional disagreements between the members, and partly a worry for the geopolitical situation. However, the two members who stepped out of the Expert Group offered to deliver their own separate contribution.
The Expert Group has subsequently delivered their report in English, and the two former members of the Expert Group have delivered a report in Danish.

On that basis, the Minister for Business, Mineral Resources, Energy, Justice and Gender Equality, Naaja H. Nathanielsen, has decided the following:

1. Both reports will be treated by The Government of Greenland and published. The reports are at the moment being translated, so that both repots are in Greenlandic, English and Danish.
2. Because of the disagreement on the professional approach, it has been decided to let both reports undergo a so-called peer review, where method and professional standards are to be judged by other researcher. The reason for this being, that the Government of Greenland does not want the professional standard to be called into question.
3. When the peer review is over, both the Expert Groups report and the other report will be presented to the Government of Greenland, the Parliament and the public – in that order.

The Minister for Business, Mineral Resources, Energy, Justice and Gender Equality, Naaja H. Nathanielsen states:

”I have tremendous understanding for the interest there is for the work of the Expert Group. It is an important contribution to a very tough subject. To me the most important thing is that the women affected, and the society as a whole, get the Contraception Case clarified in a human rights perspective. This is why I have chosen to take a solution-oriented approach to the disagreement that arose, by receiving both reports and let both reports go through a peer review. Both the report from the Expert Group and the other report, will be published, after which the readers can form their own impression.

I have noted, that there is some speculation that the delay of publishing the reports is due to the geopolitical situation. I can categorically deny that. This is a professional contribution to shedding light on a dark chapter in our history. This matter should not be used as a weapon in a political dispute. That would be disrespectful to the seriousness of the case. A community must be able to accommodate disagreements, and no contemporary actions can change the past. The Government therefore stands by the need to investigate the matter and to make the professional findings known to the public.”

Dalee Sambo Dorough, Miriam Cullen, Jonas Christoffersen and Jensine Nedergaard has the following joint statement:

“We appreciate that the Government of Greenland has decided to receive both reports and have chosen to send both reports for peer review. For us, the most important thing has to deliver professional products that we can respectively stand by. We look forward to presenting to the public and to answering questions thereafter.”

The following timeline applies up to the point of publication:

The Government of Greenland nor the researchers will make any further statements regarding the content of the reports prior to the publication.

For further information contact: Ministry of Business, Mineral Ressources, Energy, Justice and Gender Equality. E-mail: asn@nanoq.gl Phone: +299 34 50 00.