Greenlandic woman wins case against Danish authorities who removed her two-hour-old child | Greenland

A Greenlandic woman whose newborn baby was forcibly removed by Danish authorities as a result of controversial parental competency tests has won a landmark case in the high court that ruled her actions were illegal.

Keira Alexandra Kronvold’s daughter, Zammi, was taken from her in November 2024 at the age of two hours old and placed in foster care after Kronvold underwent FKU (parental competence) psychometric tests. He was told at the time that the test was to see if he was “civilized enough”.

The Danish government abruptly banned tests for people of Greenlandic descent last May after years of criticism and international pressure following Donald Trump’s threats against the former Danish colony, which remains part of the Danish kingdom.

But despite the law change, dozens of Greenlandic parents living in Denmark, including Kronvold, remain separated from their children who have undergone testing.

In Friday’s ruling, the western supreme court found that the removal of Zammi, who is now 18 months old and living with a Danish foster family, was unlawful and violated Kronvold’s fundamental legal rights under the International Labor Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention. It also ruled that the tests used to inform the decision were outdated.

Kronvold’s lawyer, Gert Dyrn, said the decision was “of great importance”. He said: “When the state introduced this new law last year, it realized that it was violating the Indigenous Peoples Convention and perhaps the European Convention on Human Rights, which in my view is confirmed by today’s decision. This is a great victory for the Greenlandic community in Denmark.”

Although the decision will not directly lead to the reunification of Kronvold and her daughter, because the girl has since been re-evaluated under a new system, it is the first ruling by the Danish supreme court on the issue and is expected to have significant repercussions for Greenlandic parents and their separated children, dating back to 1996 when Denmark ratified the ILO convention.

“There may be other women who were not re-examined under the new law, and they will probably be able to use this decision to have their decision annulled,” Dyrn said.

He also said the app could be used by adult Greenlanders who were taken from their parents as children to obtain an apology or compensation from the Danish state.

The Danish government is under increasing pressure over testing deemed culturally inappropriate for Greenlanders and other minorities. Last week the Guardian learned that the United Nations had told Denmark that authorities’ treatment of Kronvold “may amount to ethnic discrimination”.

Dyrn said Kronvold’s case was an eye-opener for Danish politicians about the treatment of Greenlandic people and Denmark’s general system of care and forced adoption. “Something is happening and it’s a good thing,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Kronvold lost his lawsuit in lower court to be reunited with his daughter. His lawyers now plan to take the case to the high court in the hope of overturning the case.

Greenlandic politician Qarsoq Høegh-Dam said the Kronvold case was “the tip of the iceberg” but was still an important moment in the fight to reunite Greenlandic parents with their children.

After receiving the news of his win at the high court, Kronvold said: “I feel so great, I find it hard to put into words. I’m trying to calm myself down. This will change every case in Denmark for the Greenlanders.”

Although his own struggle was not yet over, he promised to continue until a new law was passed for the people of Greenland. “I’m still working to make sure change is coming for my kids,” she said. “This is for life, that’s it. I’m not stepping back.”

Although the UN intervention is unrelated to the high court ruling, both increase overall pressure on the Danish government to act.

Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, along with the UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples and the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, wrote to the government asking it to answer questions about the treatment of Kronvold and other families of Greenlandic descent.

UN officials said Kronvold’s decision to take her children from her without her consent “may have been discriminatory and disproportionate”, noting that “her decisions regarding her reproductive and contraceptive choices have been blatantly disrespected over the years, causing her tremendous psychological pain.”

They also reminded Denmark of its “binding human rights obligations”.

A general election was held in Denmark in March and the parties have not yet formed a government.

In response to the UN intervention, the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs said in a letter that it was ready to “engage constructively with the issues touched upon in your letter” and suggested a meeting to discuss these issues in person.

The Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Thisted Kommune, which made the initial decision to dismiss Kronvold’s daughter, declined to comment. A spokesman for the National Social Appeal Board said: “We received the decision on this particular case from the Western high court today and will review it in detail. As the National Social Appeal Board is the appellate body in the region, we follow the case law closely and constantly evaluate the significance of a high court’s decision so that we can ensure that we follow the case law correctly.”