03 January, 2017
Información para la Prensa N°: 02/2017
Today marks the 184th anniversary of the usurpation of the Malvinas Islands. On 3 January 1833, United Kingdom military forces expelled the Argentine population and authorities legitimately established in the islands, replacing them with British subjects. The Argentine Republic immediately protested this illegitimate act of force and at no time consented to it.
From the very beginning of its existence as an independent country, the Argentine Republic expressed, through Government acts, its strong political will to exercise its effective sovereignty over the southern territories and maritime spaces inherited from Spain.
Today, the Argentine people and Government once again reaffirm the imprescriptible sovereignty rights of the Argentine Republic over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime areas.
The First Transitory Clause of the Argentine Constitution establishes the permanent and non-renounceable objective of recovering full exercise of sovereignty over said territories and maritime spaces, in accordance with the principles of international law and respecting the way of life of the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands. This objective is a State policy and embodies an aspiration of the entire Argentine people.
In 1965, through the adoption of Resolution 2065 (XX), the UN General Assembly recognized the existence of a colonial situation in the Malvinas Islands and took note of the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom, calling upon the two governments to solve it through bilateral negotiations. Along the same lines, another nine resolutions of the General Assembly have been adopted, as well as annual resolutions by the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.
Moreover, in accordance with Resolution 31/49 of the UN General Assembly, the Argentine Republic urges the United Kingdom to refrain from engaging in unilateral acts in the area under dispute, particularly in connection with the exploration and exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources.
Our region has unanimously supported the legitimate sovereignty rights of the Argentine Republic through several statements at the Summits of Presidents of the MERCOSUR Member and Associate States, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Likewise, other multilateral and regional fora have declared their support for the resumption of negotiations, including the Organization of American States, the Group of 77 and China, the Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA), the Africa-South America Summit (ASA), and the Ibero-American Summit.
The Argentine Republic reiterates its strong commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for international law, and invites the United Kingdom to strengthen the dialogue started last year, with a view to resuming negotiations aimed at finding, as soon as possible, a peaceful and definitive solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, as repeatedly requested by the international community.