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25 German Y.B. Int'l L. 290 (1982)
Greenland and the Law of Political Decolonization

handle is hein.journals/gyil25 and id is 290 raw text is: Greenland and the Law of Political Decolonization Gudmundur Alfredsson. I. Introduction During the last few years, fundamental changes have taken place on the internal political scene in Greenland. Increasing political awareness and awakening national identity among the Inuit1 have found expressions which are likely to influence the political, economic and strategic situation in the northwest Atlantic area. The purpose of this article is to examine to what degree, if any, rules of positive international law are relevant to the political developments in Greenland. 1. Geography Politically administered as an integral part of Denmark, Greenland is geographically considered as part of the Western Hemisphere. At one point, it is separated from Canada by only 30 km. Greenland expands over 2.175.600 square kilometers2 which is more than 50 times the size of European Denmark. If Greenland's northern tip were placed in Oslo, its southernmost point would reach the coast of North Africa. Although about 84 0/0 of the surface is covered by an ice-cap, the remaining area amounts to the size of Norway. The island, the largest in the world, and its sea waters are relatively rich in non-living and living resources, but their exploitation is often hampered by adverse climatic and geographic conditions. 2. Population Greenland is populated by about 41 thousand Inuit and 9 thousand Danes compared with some 5 million inhabitants in metropolitan Denmark. It is * The author is an Icelandic lawyer who received the degree Doctor of Juridical Science (S. J. D.) from Harvard Law School in March 1982. The title of his dissertation was Green- land and the Right to External Self-Determination. The present article is based on a lecture he gave at the Institute of International Law at the University of Kiel in August 1982. 1 Inuit is the native word for Eskimos. Inuit means human beings, but Eskimo means a person who eats raw meat. 2 For statistical information about Greenland, including election and referendum results, see annual publications of the Ministry for Greenlandic Affairs in Copenhagen, for example: Gronland 1979. Arsbereming udarbejdet af Ministeriet for Gronland, Kobenhavn 1980.