New book looks at home rule

The Right to National Determination is the title of a book recently-released by the North Atlantic Group.

The North Atlantic Group was formed in 2002 by the two Greenlandic and one of the two Faroese members of the Danish parliament to examine the legal right to home rule possessed by the two semi-independent Danish colonies, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Their book asks if the Faroese and the Greenlanders – are “peoples” in their own right, “indigenous peoples” or “Danish minorities,” and what their status is under international law.

These issues have been discussed in Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands for a long while as the two Danish colonies seek greater self-rule.

The book concludes neither Greenland nor the Faroes have always stood on solid ground when they have referred to international law while negotiating with the Danish government. At the same time, Denmark has often rejected Faroese and Greenlandic claims to international law, with just cause.