MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The 33-nation CELAC grants full support to Argentina in the Falklands’ dispute

President Piñera will be hosting the next CELAC summit and Cuba in 2013

The members of the newly former CELAC (Community of Latinamerican and Caribbean States) unanimously approved on Saturday a document in support of Argentina’s claim over the Falklands/Malvinas and anticipated they would request the intervention of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

According to the text, CELAC instructed the pro-tempore presidency, now in the hands of Chile’s Sebastian Piñera to petition UN Bank Ki-moon to renew his efforts for the resumption of negotiations between Argentina and the UK referred to the Falklands/Malvinas dispute.

The so called Special Communiqué Project on the Malvinas Islands, states that the members of CELAC support “Argentina’s legitimate rights in the sovereignty dispute over the Falklands/Malvinas, Georgia del Sur and Sandwich del Sur Islands, as well as its surrounding maritime spaces.

The document reiterates the standing interest of Latinamerica and the Caribbean that the UK accepts to hold sovereignty talks with Argentina so as to find “on the shortest time possible” a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute.

The request is presented in conformity with statements from the United Nations, the Organization of American States, UNASUR and Mercosur as well as expressed in previous resolutions by the Group of Rio and the Latin America and Caribbean integration and development summit, which as of now are integrated into CELAC.

The 33-nation CELAC for the next twelve months under Chilean President Piñera also condemned the US embargo on Cuba and demanded an end to this ‘coercion’ measure.

“We demand an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade” imposed on Havana since 1962 because it is contrary to International law and to abidance of successive UN General Assembly resolutions.

The blockade causes “huge and unjustified damages to the well being of the Cuban people and affects peace and neighbourly relations among American nations. The coercion and unilateral measures are applied because of “political motives”

Allegedly the blockade is intended “to prevent Cubans from exercising their right to decide their own will, their political, economic and social system”.

However the two statements don’t seem to be strictly aligned to the spirit of Article 23 from the CELAC declaration which “acknowledges the right of each nation to build in peace and in freedom its own political and economic system, as well as from the institutional framework according to the sovereign mandate of its people, the dialogue, exchange and political negotiation process which activated from CELAC must take place in accordance with the following common values and principles: respect for International Law, peaceful solution of controversies; ban on the use and threat of the use of force; respect for self-determination; respect for sovereignty; respect for territorial integrity, the non interference in the internal affairs of each country; protection and promotion of all human rights and democracy”.