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Malvinas Islands.Argentina, its rightsand the needfor dialogue.

What does this map represent?

The map is a graphical demonstration of the extent of the dispute. The Malvinas Islands are less than500 kilometres (310 miles) from mainland Argentina and 13,000 kilometres (8,077 miles) from theUnited Kingdom.

500 km 13,000 km (8,077 miles)

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Who discovered the Malvinas Islands?

The Malvinas Islands were discovered by Spainin 1520 and since then they appeared on Spanishmaps and charts with different names. They wereunder the undisputed control and jurisdiction ofSpain, recognised by all European nations, in-cluding Britain, by means of several internationaltreaties signed in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Who were the first settlers?

There was no indigenous population on the is-lands. The first inhabitants were French, who se-ttled in 1764 and called them îles Malouines. Spainprotested as soon as it was aware of the Frenchsettlement and obtained the explicit recognitionof Spanish sovereignty from the King of France.The settlement was then transferred from theFrench to the Spanish. In the periods 1765-70 and1771-74 a small British garrison was established onone of the islets of the archipelago, which was firstforced out by the Spanish authorities and in 1774evacuated by the British, leaving the whole of theMalvinas Islands under the full control of Spain.

Who administered the islands?

From 1767 until the time of Argentine indepen-dence from Spain, 32 consecutive Spanish gover-nors administered the Malvinas Islands, appointedby the authorities in Buenos Aires.

How and when did the Argentine populationarrive on the Malvinas Islands?

At the beginning of the Argentine indepen-dence movement, the islands were part of theterritories inherited from Spain. In 1820 theBuenos Aires Government formally took posse-ssion of the Malvinas Islands. The Times of Lon-don reported the event without raising anyprotest or action by the British Government.After several years of Argentine presence on theislands, in 1829 Buenos Aires appointed LuisVernet as political and military commander.He undertook pioneering work on the islands.His wife, Maria Saez, recalls in her diary howdifficult those early days were. Their daughter,Malvina, was the first person registered asborn on the islands. The settlers brought byVernet built houses and salteries. The Gover-nor promoted the settlement of livestockworkers and providers of services to fishingvessels calling at the islands.

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What did Argentina do after the seizure of theMalvinas Islands?

The Argentine authorities immediately protestedin the face of such unjustified aggression, carriedout at a time of peace between two friendly na-tions. The claim has been continuous since thevery moment of the occupation. 2013 marks the180th anniversary of this act of force. The Britishhave been aware from the beginning of their lackof rights and the weakness of their position, re-sulting from an act of force. The Duke of Welling-ton himself, when Prime Minister, wrote to theForeign Office: “I have perused the enclosed papersrespecting the Falkland Islands. It is not clear to methat we have ever possessed the sovereignty of allthese Islands.”

What happened on the islands after 1833?

Since the illegal occupation, the U.K. Governmentstarted a process of settling families of British ori-gin on the Malvinas Islands, preventing Argentineimmigration and purchase of land. At the sametime, the British Government categorically re-fused to discuss the Argentine protests and to re-solve the conflict.

Why is there a British interest in the MalvinasIslands?

Since the 18th century, Great Britain had soughtcontrol over the South Atlantic but Spain pre-vented it. It was against this background that theBritish unsuccessfully tried to invade BuenosAires in 1806 and 1807. When Britain consolidatedits position as the foremost naval power after theNapoleonic Wars, it increased its strategic inte-rest in the South Atlantic, which still prevails.

How did the expulsion of Argentina from theMalvinas Islands take place? Who attackedwhom?

In 1831 a U.S. warship, the Lexington, ravaged thepopulation of the Malvinas Islands in retaliationfor the Argentine Governor’s seizure of Americanships that were illegally hunting seals around theislands. The U.S. force destroyed the facilities anddefences in place. The attack deeply affected thecommunity and many islanders went back to thecontinent out of fear of further attacks. However,the settlement was not abandoned and new au-thorities were sent from Buenos Aires. Underthese circumstances, Great Britain sent two war-ships to the Malvinas Islands with orders to seizethem. On 3 January 1833 the United Kingdom ex-pelled the Argentine authorities, the military ga-rrison and their families, forbidding their return.

Luis María Vernet.Argentine Governor of the Malvinas Islands.

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What do the United Nations say about theQuestion of the Malvinas Islands?

The United Nations defines the Question of theMalvinas Islands in General Assembly Resolu-tion 2065 (XX) and subsequent ones, as a specialcolonial case that involves a sovereignty disputebetween Argentina and the United Kingdom,which should be settled by means of negotia-tions between both parties, taking into consi-deration the interests of islanders. Since 1965various United Nations organs have passed over40 resolutions calling on the two parties to finda peaceful and definitive solution to the sove-reignty dispute. The Question of the MalvinasIslands also includes the South Georgias Islands,South Sandwich Islands and the surroundingmaritime areas.

Have there ever been sovereignty negotiationsbetween Argentina and the United Kingdom?

From 1966 until 1982 both countries held nego-tiations and Argentina made a great effort to im-prove the living conditions of islanders throughpractical measures. Possible solutions such astransfer, joint administration and leaseback wereconsidered. Documents were drafted, agreed andinitialled by negotiators, in which the UnitedKingdom accepted to recognise Argentine sove-reignty. The intransigent attitude of groups witheconomic interests in the islands prevented a so-lution. It is striking that, having negotiated with amilitary dictatorship, the United Kingdom is notwilling to do so now with a democratic and po-pular government that has condemned the warand ascribes an essential role to the respect forhuman rights.

What happened in 1982?

In April 1982 the military dictatorship thatruled Argentina dragged the country to war inan attempt to stay in power and continue toimpose an economic model of structural ad-justment and misery. The attitude of both go-vernments prevented a peaceful settlement.The conflict did not alter the nature of the dis-pute, which continues to be pending negotia-tion and resolution, as the United NationsGeneral Assembly recognised in November1982 and in several subsequent resolutions

Memorandum of Understandingon the Malvinas Question. 1968.

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Today

Does Argentina pose a military threat tothe inhabitants of the islands?

Argentina does not pose a military threat sincethere is no prospect whatsoever that Argentinawould go to war over the Malvinas Islands. It isthe British military presence that constitutes athreat to the region. Several organisations, theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)amongst them, have expressed their concernabout it. Settling the sovereignty dispute bypeaceful means and respecting the way of li-ving of the inhabitants has constitutional statusin Argentina, as established by a clause in itsConstitution.

Who supports dialogue and resumingnegotiations?

The international community as a whole re-peatedly calls for dialogue through a largenumber of resolutions and declarations, notonly from the United Nations but also fromthe Organisation of American States (OAS),MERCOSUR, the Union of South AmericanNations, the Community of Latin Americanand Caribbean States (CELAC), the CentralAmerican Integration System (SICA), theIbero-American summits, the Summit ofSouth American and Arab countries (ASPA),the Summit of South American and Africancountries (ASA), and the G-77 plus China (131countries).

Who refuses dialogue?

The Government of the United Kingdom.

What is the Latin American position?

The Malvinas Islands are a regional cause anda global cause. All countries in the regionrecognise the Malvinas Islands as an integralpart of Argentine national territory andshow their rejection of a colonial enclave in thesouth of the continent. Likewise, the region re-jects unilateral British activities of explorationand exploitation of renewable and non-rene-wable natural resources in the Argentine con-tinental shelf, as well as the British militarypresence and exercises. There is a populationof about 2,800 people out of which only 1,339were born on the Islands and over 1,500 are sol-diers. It is unreasonable that the “wishes” of asmall community should obstruct the relation-ship between two countries and two regions.

The United Kingdom and the Argentine Republic have the

opportunity to set an example to the world by resolving

the Question of the Malvinas Islands by peaceful and diplo-

matic means. Above all, they have a duty and responsibility

not to leave this dispute and its consequences unresolved

for future generations.

Argentine Embassy London

Towards the future

Why does the right to self-determinationnot apply to the inhabitants of the Mal-vinas Islands, as asserted by the UnitedKingdom?

The right to self-determination is not a rightacknowledged to any community establishedin a given territory, but only to peoples. Thecurrent inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands arenot recognised as a “people” by United Na-tions resolutions, unlike the classic colonialcases in which a pre-existing people is a victimof colonial domination. The United Kingdomoccupied the islands and expelled the state thathad sovereignty over them. It then proceededto bring its own colonists and strictly controlthe immigration policy of an isolated territory.To date, it is the colonial government that de-cides the composition of the population of theterritory. It is a very small population, whose de-mographics do not naturally grow and dependon the economic and administrative needs ofthe colonial government. No United Nationsresolution about the Question of the MalvinasIslands has referred to self-determination. TheGeneral Assembly expressly rejected includingthis principle in the resolutions about the Malv-inas Islands. The British inhabitants of the is-lands undeniably enjoy civil and political rightsbut they do not have the right to decide the

sovereignty dispute between Argentina andthe United Kingdom. The current inhabitantsof the islands are British but the territorywhere they live is not. Argentina requests dia-logue but does not intend to take away theiridentity or change their way of life.

What assurances does the Argentine Government offer the islanders?

The largest community of British descendantsin the region lives in mainland Argentina, in-volved in all aspects of national life. Argentinais committed to respecting the identity and wayof life of the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands,as also laid down in its Constitution.

Malvinas Islands. Watercolour (Detail). 1829.

What effect would a referendum have?

None, from the perspective of international law.A referendum amongst the inhabitants of theislands does not change the essence of theQuestion of the Malvinas Islands and its fore-seeable result does not end the sovereignty dis-pute or the unquestionable Argentine rights..