UN experts warn Trump plans "colonial rule" over Greenland
Trump wants Greenland - and encounters resistance. UN experts sound the alarm and warn of colonial thinking and international lawlessness. NATO partners look to Washington with growing concern.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Despite diplomatic talks, the fronts between Washington, Denmark and Greenland remain hardened.
- UN experts warn against Donald Trump's claims to ownership of Greenland and speak of colonial logic.
- The rhetoric of the USA endangers the international order and normalizes power politics.
Experts commissioned by the United Nations have expressed concern about US President Donald Trump's claims to ownership of Greenland. Claims that a territory can be "taken, controlled or 'owned' by another state in the interests of national security or economic interests are reminiscent of the logic of colonial rule," said seven independent experts on Wednesday, who were commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak for the UN.
Such rhetoric "raises deep concerns about the maintenance of a democratic and just international order", the experts said. They warned that a "pattern" of US military aggression was normalizing "lawlessness in international relations". The group called on the United States to reaffirm its commitment to the UN Charter and respect Greenland's right to self-determination.
In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed US ownership of Greenland and justified this with security interests in the Arctic. On Tuesday, he reiterated that Greenland "must be in the hands of the United States" and declared that anything else would be "unacceptable". This caused concern among European NATO partners about the future of the defense alliance. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, which, like the USA, is part of NATO.
No agreement with the USA in Greenland crisis talks
Amid diplomatic tensions, Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt met with US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday. Afterwards, Lökke Rasmussen said that Trump still wanted to "conquer" Greenland and that the USA and his country still had "different positions".
It had been agreed to form a high-level working group to find out whether a common path could be found that took into account both American security interests and the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark, said Rasmussen. This working group should meet for the first time within weeks.
Trump remains firm: "Anything else is unacceptable"
In recent days, Trump had repeatedly justified his claim with security issues and a threat from Russia and China. The US government had not ruled out taking the island by force.
Membership of NATO is not sufficient protection - neither for Greenland nor for the USA, Trump had written before the meeting. Greenland is elementary for the construction of the planned "Golden Dome" missile defense system and Nato should therefore pave the way for a US takeover of the island, Trump wrote. In capital letters, he threatened that otherwise China or Russia would do so. He would prevent that. Trump had repeatedly referred to the increasing presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the region.
Is this true about the Russian and Chinese presence?
China in particular is causing concern among Western military personnel. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Commander-in-Chief of the NATO forces in Europe, recently commented on possible threats from China, stating that the country is becoming increasingly aggressive, especially in the far north. The Chinese were sending research vessels to the region, which were then presumably carrying out military explorations under a scientific guise. During the most recent ice-free season, ships stayed off the north coast of Alaska for an exceptionally long time. There are also joint patrols with the Russians.
Denmark increased its military presence on Greenland on Wednesday with the support of Sweden and Norway. This was done in connection with military exercises involving aircraft, ships and soldiers - and in close cooperation with NATO allies, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greenland Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Research.
During a press conference, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen responded to the question of how the military would react to an attack by saying that this was a "hypothetical" situation. "But the order is that you have to defend the kingdom if you are attacked," he said.
What role does NATO play?
In order to defuse the conflict, several alliance states have recently spoken out in favor of a stronger presence of the alliance in the region. Among other things, the launch of a new surveillance mission called "Arctic Sentry" is being discussed. This would be a different mission to the one Denmark announced on Wednesday.
However, Trump has not been dissuaded by this so far. NATO can only develop an effective deterrent thanks to the USA, the US President wrote, adding that this is thanks to the strengthening of the US armed forces during his first term in office. NATO would be far more formidable and effective with a US-controlled Greenland.
The European Parliament condemned this and previous statements by the Trump administration on Greenland as "unacceptable". Any attempt "to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland is contrary to international law and the Charter of the United Nations", the EU Parliament said.
