Thursday 19 de july de 2018
National Day of Affirmation of Argentina's rights over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands, including the surrounding maritime areas
On 10 June, the "National Day of Affirmation of Argentina's Rights over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the Antarctic Sector", we commemorate a new anniversary of the creation of the Political and Military Commandancy for the Malvinas Islands and the islands adjacent to Cape Horn in the Atlantic Sea in 1829.
Since the beginning of its independence process, in 1810, Argentina, having inherited the Spanish territories in the south of the continent -including the Malvinas Islands and the other islands in the South Atlantic-, exercised its rights continuously, proceeding to enact legislation and to establish legal and administrative bodies to consolidate the full exercise of its sovereignty. Within this framework, the Argentine Government promoted the development of trade, the settlement of population and the establishment of a seat of government on the Islands on the date we commemorate today, with Luis Vernet being appointed as Commander.
On 3 January 1833, the United Kingdom interrupted such effective exercise of sovereignty by removing by force both the population and the legitimate Argentine authorities that had settled there, thus violating the integrity of the Argentine territory. Such forceful act was not consented to by any Argentine Government, and since then -to date- the islands have been subject to a sovereignty dispute between the two countries, recognized by the United Nations through UNGA Resolution 2065 (XX), adopted in 1965.
In 2016, the Argentine Government launched a new stage in its bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom. This has helped us make progress in areas of mutual interest, including those relating to the South Atlantic, which reflects our willingness to hold an open and substantive dialogue that includes all issues.
We believe that this new stage in the bilateral relationship will provide a suitable framework for resuming the negotiations over the Question of the Malvinas Islands as established by United Nations resolutions.
This desire is also shared by the countries of the region and by several multilateral fora, such as MERCOSUR, the OAS, the G77 + China and the Ibero-American Summits, which have, on many occasions and depending on the case, issued statements on the need to resume the negotiations, so as to find a permanent solution to the sovereignty dispute and avoid unilateral acts in the area in dispute.
Recovering the full exercise of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands, as well as over the surrounding maritime areas, while respecting the way of life of the islanders and in accordance with international law, is a permanent and unrenounceable goal of the Argentine people, as established in the First Temporary Provision of the Argentine Constitution.
On this important day for the Argentine people, we once again reaffirm our sovereignty rights over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands, as well as over the surrounding maritime areas, all of which are an integral part of the Argentine territory.