GENEVA, Jan 15 (NNN-XINHUA) — United Nations (UN) experts on Wednesday warned that any unilateral attempt to alter Greenland’s status as an autonomous territory of Denmark would not only violate international law, but could also undermine stability in the Arctic region and beyond.
In a joint statement, seven UN experts, including George Katrougalos, independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Albert K. Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development, expressed grave concern over remarks made by the US president regarding Greenland.
The experts said the remarks included suggestions that the territory should be placed under US control and that force could even be used to achieve such an outcome.
“Assertions suggesting that a territory can be taken, controlled or ‘owned’ by another State in pursuit of perceived national security or economic interests evoke a logic of colonial domination that the international community has long rejected,” the experts said. “Such rhetoric raises deep concerns about the maintenance of a democratic and equitable international order – one rooted in respect for human dignity and fundamental rights in line with the UN Charter.”
The experts warned of what they described as a pattern of US military aggression, including attacks on several sovereign countries, numerous extrajudicial killings, the weaponization of tariffs and multifaceted coercive diplomacy.
“If tolerated, such actions would normalise lawlessness in international relations and risk fatally and irreversibly undermine the global order,” they said.
The experts noted that the Arctic is of major importance to the international community, and that US moves concerning Greenland would also weaken respect for broader multilateral norms and the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes. — NNN-XINHUA