Supplemental Legal Memorandum: U.S. Violation of the 1916 Lansing Declaration
Purpose of this Memorandum:
To document a public treaty breach by the United States, which materially affects the validity of the 1916 Treaty of the Danish West Indies and strengthens the petition for third-party standing on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
What Happened:
On March 28, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance made public statements declaring intent to acquire Greenland, directly undermining Denmark’s sovereignty. These statements were made:
• At the White House, and
• During a U.S. military visit to Greenland’s Pituffik Base.
They included:
• Trump: “We have to have Greenland.”
• Vance: “Denmark has not done a good job for the people of Greenland.”
• Vance: “We’re going to cut a Trump-style deal.”
Why It Matters:
These statements breach the 1916 Lansing Declaration, which states:
“The Government of the United States will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”
This declaration was part of the same diplomatic agreement that transferred the Virgin Islands to U.S. control.
Legal Impact:
• The Lansing Declaration and the 1916 Treaty formed a single diplomatic framework.
• A public breach of one clause (Greenland) undermines the legitimacy of the entire treaty, including the U.S. acquisition of the Virgin Islands.
• The exclusion of Virgin Islanders from that treaty—and their ongoing political disenfranchisement—now demands urgent international review.
Conclusion:
This is not speculation. The U.S. has publicly repudiated its treaty obligations, confirming the core argument of the PCA petition:
Virgin Islanders were never parties to the treaty that governs them, and that treaty has now been broken.
We ask the PCA to recognize third-party standing and move forward with legal and moral review of the 1916 Treaty and its consequences.
Supplemental Legal Memorandum
Re: United States Violation of the 1916 Lansing Declaration Through Official Conduct in Greenland
Date:March 30, 2025
Submitted by: Shelley Moorhead
Founder & President, African-Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance (ACRRA)
Former Minister of State for External Affairs, U.S. Virgin Islands
Former Secretary-General, Inter-Virgin Islands Council
Former Chairman, Standing Committee, Inter-Virgin Islands Council
I. Introduction
This supplemental memorandum is submitted in support of the original filing made before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) requesting recognition of third-party standing for the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands under the 1916 Treaty of the Danish West Indies. It provides urgent documentation of a material treaty breach by the United States, which has occurred subsequent to the filing.
II. Background: The Lansing Declaration and the 1916 Treaty
On August 4, 1916, U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing issued a formal diplomatic note affirming the United States would not interfere in Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The language was unequivocal:
“The Government of the United States will not object to the Danish Government extending their political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.”
This commitment, known as the Lansing Declaration, was a precondition to the 1916 Treaty of the Danish West Indies—whereby Denmark transferred sovereignty over the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) to the United States. The two agreements formed a diplomatic package, linking recognition of Danish sovereignty in the Arctic with U.S. acquisition of territory in the Caribbean.
III. New Development: Public Breach by U.S. President and Vice President
On March 28, 2025, during a high-profile visit to Greenland, Vice President JD Vance—accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz—made multiple public statements directly repudiating Denmark’s political and economic interests in Greenland.
Key statements include:
• “Denmark has not done a good job for the people of Greenland.”
• “This is why Trump’s policy is what it is.”
• “We have to have Greenland.” —President Donald Trump, March 28, 2025, White House press briefing
• “We’re going to cut a Trump-style deal.”
• “Greenlanders will choose the U.S. over Denmark.”
These remarks were made at the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland, on foreign soil, and during an ongoing diplomatic dispute between the U.S. and Denmark over Arctic policy. The comments were broadcast globally, provoking immediate reaction from the Danish Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and members of the Greenlandic parliament.
IV. Legal Analysis: A Material Breach of the Lansing Declaration
The public and official nature of these statements constitutes a material breach of the Lansing Declaration. The United States, through its highest executive officials, has:
1. Publicly objected to Denmark’s political leadership in Greenland;
2. Declared intent to pursue unilateral acquisition of Greenland;
3. Undermined the legal and diplomatic commitments made in 1916 in exchange for Denmark’s transfer of the Virgin Islands.
This breach affects not only U.S.–Danish relations but the legal foundation of U.S. sovereignty in the Virgin Islands. As the Lansing Declaration and the 1916 Treaty formed a single diplomatic structure, repudiation of one element destabilizes the integrity of the whole.
V. Implications for Third-Party Standing and Treaty Review
The public breach reinforces the necessity of immediate procedural recognition of the people of the Virgin Islands before the PCA. It confirms:
• That the treaty continues to produce legal consequences today, despite excluding Virgin Islanders from the original agreement;
• That the United States no longer honors the original framework in its entirety;
• That Virgin Islanders are entitled to challenge the continued legal validity of their transfer and present political status under the doctrine of self-determination and post-colonial redress.
VI. Conclusion
This memorandum supplements the legal petition currently before the PCA and is submitted as part of the evidentiary record. The violation of the Lansing Declaration is not hypothetical—it has occurred. The time for recognition, review, and remedy is now.
