In 2005 the Danish government obliged the wish of the Greenlandic Home Rule to commission a historical report on the circumstances surrounding the changed status of Greenland within the realm following the modification of the Constitution in 1953. The report presented here provides the most comprehensive account to date of the decolonisation of Greenland's status in the years 1945-54. With the Constitution of 1953, the colonial status of Greenland came to an end, and Greenlanders were granted equal rights as citizens within the Danish realm. In 1954 this new arrangement was supported by the UN General Assembly. The decision to change Greenland's status was conditioned both by internal and external circumstances. In the UN context, Danes increasingly felt the strain of being a colonial power, and they feared the possibility of future UN interference in Greenlandic affairs. The volume is a significant contribution to the ongoing debates concerning important developments in Danish-Greenlandic relations in the post-war period. It constitutes an important attempt to untangle the many circumstances impinging on the phasing out of Greenland's colonial status.
Author(s): Erik Beukel, Frede P. Jensen, Jens Elo Rytter
Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 478
City: Copenhagen
Front cover
Title page
Colophone
Contents
1 · Introduction
2 · Greenland and Denmark before 1945 (Erik Beukel)
Introduction
Greenland as a Danish colony
The aura surrounding this vulnerable colony
The monopoly
Consensus
Relationships with other countries: Vulnerable sovereignty
Greenland between North America and Europe: World War II
In the shadow of World War II: American considerations and proposals
The US, Greenland, and Denmark after 9 April
Kauffmann’s Greenland agreement
Two Danish perspectives: Brun and Kauffmann
World War II as a turning point
3 · The Greenland issue – sovereignty,self-determination and dependence (Erik Beukel)
Introduction
Sovereignty
Sovereignty as a fundamental norm
Changes in the rules of sovereignty
National right of self-determination
Origin and development
The UN Charter and the right of self-determination in practice
Factors governing dependence: National security policy and economics
After liberation
Denmark and the US in NATO
Economic dependence
Conclusion
4 · The international context: The decolonisation process in the UN (Erik Beukel)
Introduction
Normative framework
The initial germination
The UN Charter
The US and decolonisation
Organisational framework
An organisational apparatus?
Establishing an organisational apparatus: From an ad hoc committee to the Committee on Information
A wider scope
Lists of factors
Closing remarks
5 · The development of international law concerning decolonisation and selfdetermination (Jens Elo Rytter)
Introduction
On the development of international law in general, especially the conditions for the formation of customary law
On colonial self-determination, the territorial integrity of states, and the rights of minorities
The establishment of colonial self-determination as a norm of international law
Self-determination prior to 1945
Self-determination and decolonisation under the UN Charter
After 1945: The General Assembly proclaims the right of colonies to self-determination
When was the right of colonies to self-determination established as a norm of international law?
Requirements concerning the implementation of colonial self-determination (around 1953-1954)
The colonial regime in Chapter XI of the UN Charter – the obligation to report to the Secretary-General
After 1945: The General Assembly attempts to extend the authority of the UN based on Chapter XI
An informed and democratic process
The option of choosing independence
What principles of international law applied in 1953-1954 to the implementation of the right of self-determination?
Evaluating the process of Greenland’s integration with Denmark in 1953-1954
Greenland’s integration and General Assembly Resolution 849
Gudmundur Alfredsson’s critique
Evaluation in terms of international law
Summary
The development of international law on self-determination and decolonisation
Greenland’s integration with Denmark
Brief conclusion
6 · A new policy on Greenland in the pipeline: Danish and Greenland initiatives,1945-1950 (Erik Beukel)
Introduction
The Greenland issue emerges
Opposing views in the Greenland Administration
Press reports
The Greenland debate and political interests relating to Greenland
Hedtoft goes on the offensive
Greenland’s reformer
Journey to Greenland
After the journey: Administrative and commercial problems
The new policy on Greenland gets off the ground
The Greenland Commission and the new Greenland Acts
Support and uncertainty in Greenland
Conclusion
7 · The Greenland issue in the UN, 1945-1950 (Frede P. Jensen)
The Danish authorities and reporting to the UN
The UN General Assembly, 1946
The UN General Assembly, 1947
The UN General Assembly, 1948
Meetings in the Fourth Committee
Defining the concept of a “non-self-governing territory”
The UN General Assembly, 1949
The UN General Assembly, 1950
The American UN initiative
The Meetings in the UN
8 · The Greenland issue in the UN, 1951-1952 (Frede P. Jensen)
The Greenland report
The meetings in the UN
New Danish deliberations
Meetings in the 73 (e) Committee: The factor issue
Outlook in 1951
The UN assembly in 1952
The report on Greenland
Reply to the United Nations Secretary-General on the factor issue
The Dutch initiative
Meetings in the UN
Ad hoc Committee on Factors
The meetings in the 73 (e) Committee, the Fourth Committee, and the plenary meeting
Summary of chapters seven and eight
9 · Greenland on the path to constitutional equality, 1951-1953 (Erik Beukel and Frede P. Jensen)
Introduction
Consensus on Greenland’s future: Meetings of the Committee on Greenland in 1952
Poul Andersen and Alf Ross’ expert opinion on Greenland
Alf Ross’ original legal opinion
Final phase in the debate about Ross’ separate statement
Between Nuuk and Copenhagen
The prime minister’s letters to the governor, August 1952
Meeting of the Provincial Council, 1952
Debate in the Folketing
Why the integration solution?
Greenland’s vulnerability
The aspect of sentiment and identity
Nationalism
Opinion makers and decision makers
Conclusion
10 · The Greenland issue at the UN, 1953 (Frede P. Jensen)
The report on Greenland
Negotiations at the UN, 1953
The Ad Hoc Committee on Factors
Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories (73 (e) Committee)
Denmark’s notes to the UN Secretary-General
Hermod Lannung’s initiatives
Meetings of the Fourth Committee
The new list of factors
The cessation of the transmission of information by the Netherlands and the US
The fate of the draft resolution in the plenary session on 27 November 1953
Conclusion
11 · The Greenland issue at the UN, 1954 (Frede P. Jensen)
Report on Greenland
Negotiations at the UN in 1954
Preparations for the meetings of the 73 (e) Committee
Meeting of the 73 (e) Committee
Brazil’s draft resolution
Preliminary recapitulation
Conclusion of the Greenland issue at the UN: Meeting of the Fourth Committee and the General Assembly
Meeting of the Fourth Committee
Voting in the General Assembly on 22 November 1954
Support for Denmark on the Greenland issue by the Eastern Bloc
Conclusion
12 · Conclusion (Erik Beukel and Frede P. Jensen)
Why did Greenland’s status become a political problem?
Greenland’s integration as a Danish-Greenland project
The Greenland issue at the UN
The issue of international law
Why was the integration solution desirable?
Appendices
Appendix 1 · Terms of reference for preparing a historical study of Greenland’s change in status from a colony to an equal part of the Kingdom of Denmark pursuant to the Constitutional Amendment of 1953
Source materials
Appendix 2 · Memorandum of 4 March 2005 from Greenland’s Home Rule government. Clarification of the issue concerning analysis of the process preceding Greenland’s change of status in 1953
A. Internally
B. Externally. In relation to the UN
Appendix 3 · Original expert opinion of 17 June 1952 provided by Poul Andersen and Alf Ross
Appendix 4 · Expert opinion of 17 June1952 provided by Poul Andersen and Alf Ross, with the amended separate statement by Alf Ross of January 1953
Appendix 5 · Prime Minister Erik Eriksen’s letter of 13 August 1952 officially requesting the issue to be presented to the Provincial Council of Greenland
Appendix 6 · Letter of 13 August 1952 containing personal and highly-confidential information from Prime Minister Erik Eriksen to Governor Lundsteen
Appendix 7 · UN Resolution 567 (VI) of 18 January 1952 with the first list of factors
Appendix 8 · UN Resolution 648 (VII) of 10 December 1952 with the second list of factors
Appendix 9 · UN Resolution 742 (VIII) of 27 November 1953 with the third list of factors
Appendix 10 · UN Resolution 849 (IX) of 22 November 1954 (the Greenland Resolution)
Appendix 11 · Important bodies in the administration of Greenland
Appendix 12 · Change of status in 1953: The Greenlanders’ relationship with Denmark from 1945 to 1954 (Jens Heinrich)
Introduction
Direct references in the source materials
Indirect references in the source materials
Opportunities for expression
Associations
Newspapers
Kalâtdlit (1939-1945 and 1947-1959)
Grønlandsposten (1942-1950)
Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten – AG (1952- )
Nûp Avisia and Godthåb Avis (1951-1952)
Nasigfik
Atuagagdliutit (1861-1952)
Sujumut
Avangnamiok (1913-1958)
Conclusion
Direct references
Indirect references
Concluding remarks
Appendix 13 · Icelandic claims to Greenland (Margit Bech Larsen)
Introduction – historical background
Establishment of a three-man commission and Pétur Ottesen’s proposal in the Icelandic Parliament
The importance of the Greenland issue for the position adopted by Iceland at the UN
Conclusion
Sources
Danish and Greenland archives
The Labour Movement’s Library and Archives(Arbejderbevægelsens Bibliotek og Arkiv (ABA))
The Arctic Institute Archives
Library, Archives and Information Service of the Danish Parliament
The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen
The Danish National Archives
Greenland National Museum and Archives, Nuuk
Foreign archives
United Nations’ archives, USA
National Archives, USA
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University, USA
Bibliography
Index of names
Back cover
