The UN conventions on human rights establish fundamental principles regarding the equal value and rights of all people. There are significant differences in how countries around the world have adapted their national legislation and practices to the provisions of the conventions and ensured that these rights are upheld in practice.
The extent to which the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland comply with the conventions on the equal rights and opportunities of LGBTI people varies, both between them and in comparison with Denmark and Finland. Åland largely has the same anti-discrimination legislation as Finland, whilst Greenland included LGBTI rights in its anti-discrimination legislation much later than Denmark. The Faroe Islands have an anti-discrimination law that includes LGBTI people but lack anti-discrimination legislation for LGBTI people in the workplace, in schools and in healthcare. Which, in practice, means that it does not cover most cases of discrimination.
In Greenland, same-sex couples have been able to marry on the same terms as heterosexual couples since 2016, and in Åland since 2017. In the Faroe Islands, same-sex couples have been able to enter a civil partnership since 2017. In the Faroe Islands and Greenland, it is not possible to change one’s legal gender. Åland has the same legislation as Finland, which has permitted legal gender reassignment since 2003, and since 2023 has made the process easier with a law based on self-identification.