International relations

Greenland has various formal connections with other parts of the world. Greenland is an independent member of the Nordic Council. Special cooperation with Iceland and the Faroe Islands is organised through the Nordic Atlantic Cooperation and the West Nordic Foundation.

Greenland withdrew from the European Union in 1985, thereafter basing its relations with the EU on a special agreement.

As a result of regional cooperation regarding environmental issues (The Finnish Initiative), the eight countries in the Arctic, ie Russia, Canada, USA, Iceland, Denmark/Greenland, Sweden, Norway and Finland, founded the Arctic Council in 1996.

Greenland cooperates with the Inuit peoples of Canada, Alaska and Russia through its membership of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC). The ICC has official status as an NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) within the UN system. The ICC is a permanent member of the Arctic Council.

Since 1992 two members of the Home Rule Parliament has been represented in the Danish delegation in UN Assemblies.

In the Human Rights Commission, Denmark/Greenland actively works for the establishment of a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples within the UN.