Statement by the Permanent Representative of Argentina, Ambassador María del Carmen Squeff

October 14

 

Thank you, Mr. Chair,

To begin, I would like to congratulate you and the other members of the bureau for your election as officers of this Committee. I wish you all of you the greatest success and I reassure you that you can count on our support.

Argentina fully aligns with the statements delivered on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the MERCOSUR and the Associated States, the Group of Friends of Spanish and the Group of 77 and China. We also appreciate the statement made by Nicaragua on behalf of the Central American Integration System.

Mr. Chair,

My country is proud to have accompanied the decolonization process from the beginning, and today I would like to reaffirm our full support for the General Assembly and its Special Committee on Decolonization as the governing bodies of this process.

Sixty years after the adoption of resolution 1514 (XV), which proclaims the necessity to bringing to an end colonialism in all its forms, 17 colonial situations still persist, what must be resolved taking into account the singularities of each case.

The United Nations has considered the Question of the Malvinas Islands on many occasions and has adopted multiple resolutions in this regard. Fifty-five years ago, the General Assembly adopted resolution 2065 (XX), through which it expressly recognized the existence of a dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Malvinas, South Georgias, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas and urged the two parties to hold negotiations to find a definitive solution to the dispute.

Since then, that mandate set by this Assembly has been renewed to this day and is supported as well by various international, regional and bi-regional organizations and forums, such as Mercosur, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Ibero-American Summits, the Summit of South American and Arab Countries (ASPA), the Summit of South America and Africa (ASA) and the Group of 77 and China.

Notwithstanding, the United Kingdom continues to ignore that call, failing to meet its obligations regarding decolonization. In view of this reiterated refusal, we have requested the Secretary-General to renew his efforts concerning the mission of good offices entrusted to him through General Assembly resolution 37/9 in order to assist the parties to resume negotiations on the sovereignty. We trust that these good offices will assist both parties to the dispute to comply with what was established by the international community.

Mr. Chair,

Argentina defends the right to self-determination of the peoples in all those cases in which such right is applicable.

The subjugation, domination, colonial exploitation or foreign occupation of any people cannot be tolerated in the 21st Century. However, it should also be borne in mind that "self-determination" and "decolonization" are not synonymous. The right to self-determination is not a right recognized to every human population, but only for “peoples”. In the case of the Malvinas Islands, although it is a colonial situation, it could hardly be considered that its inhabitants have ever been subjected to foreign colonial subjugation, domination or exploitation. There is no "people" there that can be the holder of the right to self-determination, but rather a group of inhabitants descended from the British colonists who, in the 19th Century, were transferred to a portion of the Argentine territory which has been illegally occupied since 1833 after an act of force.

Recognizing the right to self-determination of a population that is indistinguishable from that of the metropolis would it means a distortion of this human right, as a consequence of a forced and erroneous interpretation that would have the purpose of legitimizing an illegal occupation which disrupts the territorial integrity of a State.

Therefore, none of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly or the Special Committee on Decolonization refers to an alleged right to self-determination of those who inhabit the Malvinas Islands. It is also for this reason that the General Assembly expressly rejected in 1985 two attempts by the United Kingdom that sought to make amendments to the resolution to incorporate references to self-determination.

While Argentina has always accompanied the decolonization process and supported the exercise of self-determination where appropriate, it cannot be said the same of the United Kingdom, which, after the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and the resolution of the General Assembly that followed it, still refuses to fulfill its responsibility to complete the decolonization of Mauritius by means of the restitution of that territory.

Mr. Chair:

Argentina has nothing against the inhabitants of the islands. In the years that followed the adoption of resolution 2065 (XX), Argentina and the United Kingdom entered into negotiations in which different alternatives to resolve the dispute were considered by the parties. Many of those alternatives consider the restitution of the exercise of sovereignty to Argentina. In parallel, the Argentine government carried out measures that had a positive impact on the lives of the islanders. At that time, Argentina built the first airport on the islands and provided fuel, health and education facilities to its inhabitants.

This commitment to respect the way of life and the interests of the islanders has been upheld by every Argentine democratic government and it has even been incorporated into the Argentine Constitution. Argentina cannot be accused of denying anyone such rights. We don’t have the slightest desire to forcibly integrate the civilian population of the islands, or to alter their way of life.

However, this doesn’t entail that the inhabitants of our Malvinas Islands are the holders of an alleged right to self-determination. Nor does it mean that we can accept that the United Kingdom continues to pursue unilateral acts in the disputed area. These acts include the unilateral and illegal exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources in a clear violation of the provisions of resolution 31/49 of this General Assembly. Furthermore, the Malvinas Islands have become the host of a military base of unjustifiable proportions and the stage of military exercises that only bring tension to a region of the world characterized as a zone of peace and cooperation, according to resolution 41/11 of the General Assembly that calls upon the States of all other regions, especially the militarily significant States, scrupulously respect the region of the South Atlantic as a zone of peace and cooperation, in particular through the reduction and eventual elimination of their military presence there.

As President Alberto Fernández pointed out in his remarks to the General Assembly in the General Debate, Argentina has “… the firm conviction that the resolutions of this Organization must be complied with by all Member States”.

Mr. Chair,

The 21st century has brought us challenges that until recently were inconceivable. The eradication of colonialism is a challenge that should have been achieved long ago. That is why we once again extend the invitation to the United Kingdom to return to the negotiating table and to seek with us the best way to end this unnecessarily protracted dispute.

Reality cannot be denied forever. The sovereignty dispute exists, and both governments are called upon to resume the dialogue that we were able to maintain in the past to find a peaceful and definitive solution. To that end, Argentina will continue to follow the path of international law, diplomacy and multilateralism and invites the United Kingdom to commit itself on the same path, in the conviction that there is no longer room for colonialism in the 21st Century.

Thank you very much Mr. Chair.