Denmark's prime minister on Wednesday presented a long-awaited apology to the victims of Denmark's forced contraception campaign in Greenland, lifting a key point of tension with its autonomous territory.

From the 1960s until 1992, Danish authorities forced around 4,500 Inuit women, around half of those of child-bearing age, to wear a contraceptive coil -- or intrauterine device (IUD) -- without their consent.

The aim was to reduce the Inuit birth rate.

Many of the women were left sterile and almost all of them have suffered from physical or psychological problems.

Around 150 of them have sued the Danish state for violating their rights and demanded compensation.

"We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility. Therefore, on behalf of Denmark, I would like to say:

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