UN Flags Concerns Over Greenlandic Newborn Removal

The UN has raised concerns over the Danish authorities’ treatment of a Greenlandic woman whose newborn daughter was removed shortly after birth, warning the case may amount to ethnic discrimination.

Keira Alexandra Kronvold’s daughter, Zammi, was taken from her two hours after birth in November 2024 and placed in foster care. The decision was based on so-called parental competence tests, known as FKU assessments. Kronvold said the tests were used to determine whether she was “civil enough”.

The case sparked public outrage and contributed to a ban on the use of the tests. Kronvold is now appealing to the Danish Supreme Court in a bid to regain custody of her daughter.

UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem said there were grounds to believe that “her human rights have been violated”. In a letter to the government, she highlighted the “disproportionate impact of the tests on Greenlandic parents, which may constitute ethnic discrimination”.

She added that, even after the ban, affected parents should have access to justice. According to the UN, removing a child without the mother’s consent can be “discriminatory and disproportionate”. UN experts have also pointed to broader concerns, noting that similar cases have affected multiple Greenlandic families.

Kronvold remains separated from her daughter and is only allowed limited contact. “They have not allowed me to be with my daughter as I should”, she said.

(guardian, bak)