Statement issued on August 20, 2021
The members of the National Council reaffirm our commitment to contribute to the strengthening of State policies that allow us to comply with the provisions of our National Constitution in its first transitory provision: "The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and indefeasible sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias Islands and South Sandwich Islands, and the corresponding maritime and insular areas, as they are an integral part of the national territory. The recovery of said territories and the full exercise of sovereignty, respecting the way of life of its inhabitants, and in accordance with the principles of international law, constitute a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people”.
In a preliminary way, we consider it important to summarize the solid historical, legal and political arguments that support the Argentine position: At the time of the beginning of the national emancipation process, the Kingdom of Spain exercised material possession and full sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, appointing 32 governors until 1810. Although the Islands were during this period an object of interest to Great Britain and France, who aspired to have an establishment strategically located in front of the Strait of Magellan, Spain protested each of these attempts and, consequently, both countries gave up carrying them out.
Argentina inherited the titles of Spain by succession of States and in accordance with the principle of the uti possidetis iuris of 1810. Since then, our country, as the legitimate heir of the continental, insular and maritime territories that had belonged to Spain, exercised its sovereignty over these archipelagos and maritime spaces through various acts of government.
These acts that began as soon as the first Governing Board was installed in May 1810 included the official and unanswered public possession of the Malvinas Islands on behalf of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1820 and numerous acts of jurisdiction, among the which include the granting of land, the appointment of authorities, the issuance of regulations and the establishment of legal and administrative structures such as the creation of the Political and Military Command in 1829, with a resident governor, appointed by the government of Buenos Aires .
This effective exercise of sovereignty was interrupted on January 3, 1833, when the United Kingdom usurped the Islands, expelling Argentina and breaking the territorial integrity of our country. The Argentine Republic immediately protested this unlawful act of force and never, under any political sign, consented to it. The Argentine protest was not the patrimony of a political sector. Roca, Alvear, Palacios, Perón, Illia, Alfonsín, and Kirchner were some of the political leaders who, from different party forces, firmly carried out this claim.
Since then, the Islands and the corresponding maritime areas have been the subject of a sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom, recognized by the United Nations through Resolution 2065 (XX) of the General Assembly approved without votes against in 1965, under the presidency of Dr. Arturo Illia. The articulated defense of the Argentine arguments was carried out by Ambassador José María Ruda, reflecting the consistent work of Argentine diplomacy in this matter.
In said resolution, the General Assembly established that the way to put an end to it is by solving the sovereignty controversy between both governments, taking into account the interests of the inhabitants of the Islands, inviting both governments to enter into negotiations in that sense. That instrument was the starting point of a process of bilateral negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom in which both governments evaluated various hypotheses for the solution of the dispute, which were not materialized due to the British refusal.
In parallel to the negotiations on the merits of the Question, practical aspects were agreed that made it possible to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Islands, demonstrating the historical will of our country to take into account their interests and to respect their way of life.
The 1982 war conflict and its outcome did not alter the nature of the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom, nor did it end the sovereignty dispute, which remained pending resolution. This was recognized by the General Assembly in November of that same year when it adopted resolution 37/9, a few months after the conflict ended.
Additionally, it should be remembered that the principle of self-determination - one of the pillars of international law that has allowed numerous subjugated peoples to achieve their independence and of which our country has been a firm defender in the cases in which it corresponds - is not applicable to the current inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands. There is no colonized, subjugated or dominated people on the Islands. For this reason, neither the United Nations General Assembly nor its Committee on Decolonization have ever applied the principle of self-determination to the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands.
In reality, the reasons why the United Kingdom usurped the Malvinas in 1833 and maintains its colonial rule today are not linked to those who live there today. Its permanence is due to other causes, among which are the projection to Antarctica, the control of the bi-oceanic passage and the abundance of renewable and non-renewable resources in the disputed area. This also explains the permanence of a huge British military base in the Islands.
The Malvinas Cause is not only a national cause, but a global cause: the international community, through its multiple regional and multilateral forums, such as the OAS, the G77 plus China, MERCOSUR, the Ibero-American Summit, CELAC, the SICA, OLADE, PARLASUR, PARLACEN, the South America Africa Cooperation Forum (ASA) and the Arab Countries - South America Summit (ASPA), join the United Nations call for negotiations to resume, in order to find a solution to this controversy.
Likewise, the United Nations also condemns unilateral acts carried out by the United Kingdom. In particular, the exploration and exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources in the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias Islands, South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime areas are incompatible with Resolution 31/49 of the United Nations General Assembly.
The members of this Council are convinced of the importance of a plural, broad, federal and intergenerational dialogue that addresses the Malvinas Question as a true State policy and that commits itself to the legal, historical and political arguments that support the Argentine position. as well as with the permanent recognition of our people towards those who courageously fought to defend our sovereignty.
In compliance with the constitutional mandate that imposes as an inalienable objective the peaceful recovery of the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, we reaffirm our commitment to continue working on the consolidation of said policies that express the firm and unwavering will of our country to negotiate until a definitive solution to this sovereignty dispute is reached under the terms of Resolution 2065 (XX) of the United Nations General Assembly.
