Canada-Denmark agree over Hans Island

Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Pierre Pettigrew, and his Danish counterpart, Per Stig Møller, are planning to draft a protocol for managing Hans Island, the disputed rock located between northern Ellesmere Island and Greenland.

The ministers were at the United Nations for the organization’s 60th anniversary summit when they announced the truce over Hans.

According to their agreement, bureaucrats will develop a set of rules dealing with such issues as notification before any official visits to the island. Neither will give up sovereignty over Hans Island.

Earlier this month, Møller told the Danish parliament’s foreign policy committee he expected a peaceful resolution to the disagreement over Hans Island.

During the committee hearing, Møller noted that a Canadian flag hoisted on the island had been knocked down by wind.

“How do I know that? We’re monitoring the island, of course. It’s a part of Danish territory.”