A/HRC/54/31/Add.1
IV. Conclusions and recommendations
90.
The Special Rapporteur welcomes the openness and cooperativeness of the
Governments of Denmark and Greenland. He emphasizes the unique implementation
model of the right to self-determination of Indigenous Peoples by Greenland and
Denmark, reflected in the self-governance of Greenland, and looks with interest at the
constitutional discussions in Greenland and their further developments, in particular
concerning the implementation of international human rights standards in relation to
Indigenous Peoples.
91.
The Inuit people in Denmark and Greenland still face many challenges in fully
enjoying their individual and collective rights. Structural racism against Inuit people is
often the result of the legacy of colonialism and the lack of policies and remedies to
address it. The Special Rapporteur considers it a priority for the Governments of
Denmark and Greenland to embrace a process to achieve truth and reconciliation, with
the full participation of Inuit people in Denmark and Greenland, in the design of
effective remedies and policies.
92.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that Denmark and Greenland take the
actions set out below, within their fields of competence, in collaboration, cooperation
and consultation with Indigenous Peoples.
Institutional and legal framework
93.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that, within their fields of competence,
Denmark and Greenland:
(a)
Withdraw the territorial exclusions to the following international treaties:
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications
procedure, the Paris Agreement and the Aarhus Convention and give them prompt and
full implementation;
(b)
Implement fully the right to self-identification and withdraw the
declaration made in connection with the ratification of the Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), in which Denmark considers Inuit in Greenland
the only Indigenous People in the sense of the Convention;
(c)
Implement the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169),
and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to ensure that
Inuit fully enjoy the rights under these instruments in Denmark and Greenland and
strengthen knowledge, at all levels of the government, administrative and judicial
systems, of the international human rights of Indigenous Peoples in Greenland and
Denmark;
(d)
Collect disaggregated data on Inuit people in Denmark and Greenland to
inform legislation, policy and programmes in all fields, including education, health,
justice, gender equality, violence against Indigenous women and children, equality for
persons with disabilities, and prison and probation services.
Inuit Greenlanders in Denmark
94.
The Special Rapporteur recommends that Denmark:
(a)
Review urgently the procedures for out-of-care assessments in relation to
Inuit children from Greenland; ensure that relevant legislation is made available in
Greenlandic; address structural prejudices within social authorities by strengthening
training for staff; and, in particular, strengthen interaction with Inuit community
organizations in Denmark in order to establish and support more Inuit foster families
in Denmark. Specifically, the Special Rapporteur urges Denmark to explicitly adopt
procedures, as has been done in other countries, that give priority placement of
Indigenous children in foster homes within their communities over non-Indigenous
placements;
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