UK to Argentina: “There can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the people of the Falkland Islands so desire”

As the Organization of American States (OAS) was about to issue a statement urging the UK and Argentina to enter into negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Undersecretary of State David Rutley delivered a speech outlining the UK Government’s position:

“Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, Ministers, Delegates, friends and colleagues. It is an honor to represent the UK here as a permanent observing nation.

Ten years ago, your government asked the people of the Falkland Islands if they wanted to maintain their relationship with Britain as a self-governing Overseas Territory. In a referendum with a turnout of 92%, 99.8% of voters voted to keep the island’s ties with the UK. The referendum was overseen by an observer mission from six countries, including OAS members Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Canada and the United States, which described it as “free and fair”.

The Falkland Islanders have clearly expressed their desire not to be included in Argentina against their will. Similarly, he has made it clear to me that Britain does not have a mandate to negotiate with Argentina over the future of their home.

I’m not here to talk about the events of the 19th century: who claims which rock was first. What we are talking about is the democratic rights of the people living on the islands and their right to determine their own future. They have no other home, and despite the hardships of living on these remote islands, they are proud of their community and what they have accomplished.

Today the islanders are economically independent, manage sustainable fisheries and have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. They are perhaps the smallest jurisdiction to have an A plus credit rating, attesting to their stable and democratic government.

Before passing this motion today, you all need to be clear about what you stand for. Argentina officially holds that the right to self-determination does not apply to residents of the Falkland Islands, meaning islanders do not have the right to democracy.

This motion calls for the two larger countries to negotiate, without the consent of those living there, the transfer of the island to Argentina. The UK will not be negotiating the transfer of sovereignty over the islands, as the local population has made it clear they do not want it.

The Falklands are a self-governing territory and the islanders fiercely protect their constitution and the powers of their elected government. They have their own constitution, laws, currency and traditions.

It is absurd to suggest that this community, which has existed for 10 generations on the islands, is not a real community and does not deserve the democratic rights we expect for ourselves.

Their elected representatives made decisions that affected the lives of Falklanders: they wanted to focus on issues that were important to their community, to improve education, to health care, to protect the environment, and they did very well in all of these areas.

It is sometimes claimed that Britain is “militarizing” the South Atlantic, but the forces on the islands are completely on the defensive. The British military presence has been significantly reduced since 1982 and is the minimum necessary to defend the Islands. Any suggestion that we purport to militarize the region is unfounded and not based on actual facts.

The UK hopes and continues to seek a positive and constructive relationship with Argentina in the best interests of both countries and the region in general. It is unfortunate that Argentina has chosen this year to further damage its relationship with the United Kingdom, both on South Atlantic issues and, consequently, on bilateral matters of broader interests.

In March 2023, Argentina unilaterally withdrew from the 2016 Joint Communique. This historic commitment is of great benefit to the peoples of the Falkland Islands, Great Britain, and Argentina. Among them, a commercial flight to the Falkland Islands from Brazil that stopped in Argentina -the second commercial flight to the Islands from the South American continent -, fisheries cooperation and the establishment of a framework for carrying out humanitarian work.

The people of the Falklands and England carefully honor their commitments. Nobody has been left untouched by the pioneering work undertaken in 2017 and 2021 by the International Committee of the Red Cross to identify Argentinian remains from 1982. During this period, residents of the Falkland Islands supported numerous visits by relatives of the victims. can pay their respects at the graves of their loved ones. And this despite the fact that memories of the invasion and occupation of Argentina were still fresh in their minds.

The current politicization of humanitarian work by the Argentine government is unfortunate, and it is impossible not to interpret it as a clear sign that this Argentine government wants to discuss nothing about the South Atlantic in good faith. Nonetheless, relatives of those who died in 1982 can visit the Falklands via commercial flights from Punta Arenas to visit the graves of their relatives preserved by the islanders.

The islanders and the UK remain committed to humanitarian work. However, the withdrawal – ahead of final negotiations for the third phase of the humanitarian project – has made agreeing on this work much more difficult. I once again urge the Government of Argentina to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Communiqué.

The draft declaration presented by the Argentine government today refers to a “constructive approach towards the inhabitants” of the Falkland Islands. The Falklanders would be justifiably confused by this statement. Argentina has imposed sanctions against companies seeking to do business with the islands, stopped sharing scientific data for fisheries management, and first blocked and then canceled the resumption of commercial air routes between the islands and São Paulo. It has redeployed Argentinian aircraft and ships in southern Argentina, a move confirmed by Argentina’s Ministry of Defense was aimed at controlling airspace and fishing around the Falklands. Even protested against the participation of the children’s ice hockey team in regional competitions.

Great Britain does not doubt its sovereignty over the Falkland, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding sea area.

We also have no doubt about the principle and right of self-determination enshrined in the United Nations Charter and in Article One of the two UN Covenants on Human Rights, under which the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands can freely determine their political status and freely pursue development. their economic, social and cultural.

We want to work constructively with Argentina. But his rhetoric and activity in the South Atlantic is preventing us from realizing the full potential of our bilateral relationship. Argentina must accept that there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders so desire.

The 2013 referendum – in which the islanders voted to retain their status as a self-governing British Overseas Territory – made it clear they wanted no such dialogue.

On behalf of the people of the Falkland Islands, the United Kingdom requests that the General Assembly record their right to self-determination and this statement is read into the minutes of this meeting.

Thank You”.