The General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) today adopted by acclamation a Declaration on the Question of the Malvinas Islands, reaffirming once again the need for the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to resume negotiations on the sovereignty dispute as soon as possible, in order to find a peaceful solution to this protracted controversy.
Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero thanked his peers from across the continent for the approval of this statement, which was presented in the plenary session by the representative of Brazil, within the framework of the 51st OAS session that has been taking place since Wednesday in Guatemala.
Then he emphasized: “I come supported by the will and the unanimous sentiment of the Argentine people to evoke the historic American solidarity. The Malvinas Question is a historical and central issue for all Argentines. Our National Constitution recognizes this by establishing in its First Transitory Clause that 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”.
“This is an objective that transcends governments and constitutes a true State policy, in which all the political forces of my country agree. A reflection of this was the creation, in August 2020, by Law 27558, of the National Council for Matters Relating to the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich and the Corresponding Maritime and Insular Spaces, within the scope of the Presidency of the Nation. The passage of time has not weakened the validity of our claim or the strength of our conviction, "he added.
During the session, many countries intervened reaffirming their support for the resumption of negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom: Brazil made the motion for a resolution; Paraguay, representing Mercosur; Dominican Republic, representing the Ibero-American Summit; Mexico, on behalf of CELAC; Bolivia, representing the G77 + China and Guatemala, representing the Central American Integration System (SICA). Peru, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, El Salvador and Uruguay demonstrated by national representation.
Cafiero recalled that "the OAS Member States have built a historic consensus through the commitment assumed by its highest body, this General Assembly, which declares that the Malvinas Question constitutes an issue of permanent hemispheric interest", and mentioned the "most of thirty resolutions and declarations adopted in the OAS since 1982, which recognize the existence of the sovereignty dispute over the Islands and urges the parties to enter into negotiations to resolve it peacefully”. He also highlighted the regional solidarity expressed in multiple organizations and parliaments of our continent.
He also explained that “the British usurpation, carried out in 1833, in time of peace and contrary to international law in force at the time, represented a breach of Argentine territorial integrity, and has been protested since then and to the present without interruption, and never spoiled by my country. This makes the Falkland Islands a colonial territory, but not a colonized town. The inhabitants of the Islands are a transplanted population, and unlike the classic cases of colonialism in which a pre-existing people is a victim of the establishment of a colonial domination, in the Malvinas question there is no people subjected to subjugation, domination or exploitation by a colonial power”.
“In 1965, through the adoption of resolution 2065 of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Malvinas Question was characterized as a special and particular case of decolonization in which the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom, which must be resolved by bilateral negotiations, taking into account the interests of the inhabitants of the islands”, he stressed.
“Because of this,” he continued, “neither resolution 2065 (XX), which defines the question of the Malvinas Islands within the framework of the United Nations, nor any of the following resolutions on the matter, both in the General Assembly and in the Committee. Decolonization Special of the United Nations, contemplates the application of the principle of self-determination to the question”.
At the end, the head of the Palacio San Martín said that our country “has repeatedly expressed its willingness to dialogue with the United Kingdom and maintains its firm will to negotiate to find a peaceful solution to the dispute. Unfortunately, the British refusal to reestablish bilateral dialogue persists, contrary not only to repeated UN and OAS resolutions but also to numerous pronouncements by the international community. Argentina aspires for our region to be recognized as an example of peace and dialogue among nations, and to achieve this it is necessary to find a solution to the sovereignty controversy”.
