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	Recognition of Indigenous Peoples by IWGIA, UN Office for Human Rights   International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs Statement at the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council:   "I speak on behalf of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. First, allow me to congratulate Dr. Albert Barume on his appointment as Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We welcome his timely and insightful report on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples—a topic that is both foundational and urgent, especially as we approach the twentieth anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.   Recognition is not symbolic, it is the cornerstone of the enjoyment of all rights by Indigenous Peoples. As the report rightly states: “Refusal by a State to recognize Indigenous Peoples… does not diminish the rights held by Indigenous Peoples” . Recognition is a legal and moral obligation under international law.   We commend the Special Rapporteur’s analysis of the adverse impacts of conflating Indigenous Peoples with local communities. This conflation creates confusion, rather than focus on the distinct collective rights of Indigenous Peoples including the right to self-determination as enshrined in the UNDRIP.   As the report warns, such confusion may undermine the distinct rights of Indigenous Peoples. IWGIA believes it is essential to maintain a clear distinction to prevent dilution and retrogression of Indigenous Peoples rights.   Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-identify as such. Non-recognition must never be used as an excuse to disregard their rights, which are clearly affirmed in international human rights frameworks, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).   We welcome the regional contextualization of recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Africa and Asia. The report highlights how persistent misunderstandings continue to hinder recognition. The Special Rapporteur’s recommendations are vital to address these gaps and guide legal and policy reforms.   We also encourage the Special Rapporteur to consider “forced assimilation” as a future thematic focus. These practices continue to threaten Indigenous identities, cultures, and institutions. A thematic report could shed light on these violations and support States in adopting remedial measures.   As the mandate is up for renewal this year, we stress its continued relevance. For over two decades, it has played a pivotal role in advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights. In today’s world, defending and protecting Indigenous Peoples rights is more crucial than ever.   Yet current financial constraints threaten its effectiveness. Budget cuts risk limiting its ability to respond to urgent human rights violations faced by Indigenous Peoples. We urge Member States to ensure adequate and sustained funding.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc6029-recognition-indigenous-peoples-report-special-rapporteur-rights http://iwgia.org/en/news/5835-iwgia-statement-60th-session-un-human-rights-council.html http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2025/09/report-foreign-aid-cuts-threaten-global-human-rights-ecosystem Visit the related web page
	Denmark’s leader apologizes to Indigenous girls and women in Greenland for forced contraception by Associated Press, agencies   25 Sep. 2025   At age 13, Katrine Petersen was fitted with a contraceptive device by Danish doctors without her consent. They fitted her with an intrauterine contraceptive device, commonly known as an IUD, or coil.   Now 52 and living in Denmark, Petersen recalled being told she had been fitted with the device before leaving the hospital. “Because of my age, I didn’t know what to do,” she said tearfully. “I kept it inside me and never talked about it.”   Petersen said her trauma led to “anger, depression, and too much to drink,” as she suppressed memories of her experiences and didn’t speak about it with doctors. Later in life, after she married, she was unable to have children.   At a ceremony in Greenland ‘s capital of Nuuk on Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, apologized to Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women like Petersen who were given invasive contraception by the Danish health authorities against their will in cases dating back to the 1960s.   “Today, there is only one real thing to say: Sorry,” Frederiksen said, after Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen delivered a somber address in Greenlandic. “Sorry for the wrong that was done to you because you were Greenlanders. Sorry for what was taken from you, and for the pain it caused.”   “Many of you have been fighting for years for justice and for us to listen, for us to take responsibility, and we’re doing that now: Denmark and Greenland together,” Frederiksen said, lamenting “a chapter in our shared history that should never have been written. On behalf of Denmark. Sorry,” she said.   Last month, Denmark and Greenland published apologies for their roles in the mistreatment of the women and girls just ahead of the publication of an independent investigation into the abuse.   Greenland, which remains part of the Danish realm, was a colony under Denmark’s crown until 1953, when it became a province in the Scandinavian country. In 1979, the island was granted home rule, and 30 years later, Greenland became a self-governing entity.   The forced contraception of Indigenous women and girls was part of centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families.   The policies included the removal of young Inuit children from their parents to be given to Danish foster families for re-education and controversial parental competency tests that resulted in the forced separation of Greenlandic families.   An independent investigation, published earlier this month, found Inuit victims, some 12 years old and younger, were either fitted with IUDs or given hormonal birth control injections. They were not told details about the procedure, nor did they give their consent.   Some described traumatic experiences that left them with feelings of shame as well as physical side effects, from pain and bleeding to serious infections.   While the report covered the experiences of 354 women who spoke with investigators, Danish authorities say more than 4,500 women and girls received IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.   “Of course, I’m thinking about all the women who were treated like I was,” said Petersen, who had her IUD removed earlier this year, after not speaking about her experiences for over 30 years. “I feel with my fellow women from this episode of our life.”   The alleged purpose of the forced contraception was to limit population growth in Greenland by preventing pregnancies. Greenland took over its own health care programs in 1992.   Kirstine Berthelsen, 66, who now lives in Copenhagen, believes she was 14 when she was fitted with an IUD in Greenland. She recalls being taken to a hospital, but not being given a reason why. Later, she remembers she was in “endless pain.”   At 34, she gave birth to a son, but believes two subsequent failed pregnancies were a result of complications caused by the contraception.   28 Aug. 2025   Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday officially apologized for their roles in the historic mistreatment of Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women, including forced contraception, in cases that date back to the 1960s.   Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland, said the issue represented “a dark chapter in our history.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that although the past could not be changed, “we can take responsibility.”   Nearly 150 Inuit women last year sued Denmark and filed compensation claims against its health ministry, saying Danish health authorities violated their human rights when they fitted them with intrauterine contraceptive devices.   Women — including many who were teenagers at the time — said they were not told details about the procedure and did not give their consent.   “We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility,” Frederiksen said. “That is why I would like to say, on behalf of Denmark: Sorry.”   Frederiksen said her apology also included Denmark’s systematic discrimination and other failures and mistreatments against Greenlanders “because they were Greenlanders.” She acknowledged that the forced contraception led to physical and psychological harm.   Nielsen said the government of Greenland, which took over control of its health sector from Copenhagen in 1992, had acknowledged its own responsibility in the forced contraception cases and plans to award compensation to the victims.   “Far too many women were affected in a way that left deep imprints on lives, families and communities.. I feel for the women and their loved ones. And I share in their sorrow and anger. It’s sad that an apology only comes now — it’s too late”, he said.   Mads Pramming, a lawyer representing the women, welcomed the apology but said the case was far from over. What matters is whether the government recognizes that the women’s human rights were violated and offers compensation, he said.   “Today they decided to make an apology, to apologize formally. And that’s a big thing, I think,” he said. “But they haven’t yet said anything about the lawsuit.”   He added that he was hopeful the apology represented the start of an attempt to repair relations between Denmark and Greenland.   Dwayne Menezes, managing director of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative, said the case highlights centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families.   The policies included the forced contraception, as well as the removal of young Inuit children from their parents to be given to Danish foster families for re-education and controversial parental competency tests that resulted in the forced separation of families.   He said that while most people believe colonialism and its abuses occurred in the “distant past,” the victims of the forced contraception are still alive.   “If we don’t recognize the important lesson this teaches us, we will not recognize in time the manifestations and recurrences of such divisive and dehumanizing policies when they resurface,” he said.   In 2020, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen apologized to Greenland children who were forcibly taken to Denmark in 1951 in a failed social experiment.   The plan was to modernize Greenland and give children a better life, but it ended with an attempt to form a new type of Inuit by reeducating them and hoping they would later return home and foster cultural links.   We “apologize to those we should have looked after but failed,” Frederiksen said, adding that “the children lost their ties to their families and lineage, their life history, to Greenland and thus to their own people.”   http://iwgia.org/en/kalaallit-nunaat-greenland.html http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5431add1-visit-denmark-and-greenland-report-special-rapporteur-rights
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