Denmark and Greenland's combined efforts to comply with the UN conventions they have ratified will soon be examined by the UN Human Rights Council.
On this occasion, the Human Rights Council (IPPS) has briefed embassies and representations in Denmark on the most important human rights challenges in Greenland.
Acting representative of the IPPS, Kelly Berthelsen, highlighted, among other things, that when it comes to combating violence in intimate relationships, especially against women and children, the Greenland Government has implemented several good initiatives, which is important and positive.
However, there is a great need for better and more detailed data, because violence is often recorded in statistics simply as "violence" without distinguishing between gender, age or type of violence.
This makes it difficult to fully understand the problem, and it can make it difficult for the Government of Greenland to design targeted policies to combat violence in close relationships, writes IPPS in a press release.
The number of economically vulnerable children is increasing
The extent of sexual abuse of children was also mentioned in the briefing. According to IPPS, the number of reported cases has decreased in recent years, but the overall level has remained high.
IPPS also raised concerns about child poverty, citing that statistics show that the number of economically vulnerable children and young people has increased in recent years.
Poverty particularly affects children of single parents, but it is also increasing among families with two parents, according to the assessment from the council.
- I hope that this opportunity to disseminate our knowledge about the human rights challenges in Greenland to the international community will be able to contribute constructively to our human rights situation in Greenland, says acting representative of IPPS, Kelly Berthelsen.
The actual “human rights exam” will take place in May 2026, when the UN Human Rights Council will review and assess the entire human rights situation in Greenland and Denmark, IPPS informs.
