MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

C-24 calls for resumption of sovereignty talks.

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, C-24, this Friday morning adopted without a vote a draft resolution on the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), requesting the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume as soon as possible a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

Under the terms of the draft, the Committee reiterated its firm commitment to assist the parties in complying with the request made by the General Assembly in its resolutions on the question of the islands.

Territorial integrity

Speaking before the adoption of the draft resolution, Rafael Bielsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, recalled that "British forces had expelled the Argentine inhabitants and authorities of the Malvinas Islands on January 3, 1883, thereby establishing their illegal occupation of the Islands". Noting that disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any country was incompatible with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, he said the United Kingdom's nineteenth-century violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the independent republic of Argentina meant that the principle of territorial integrity must prevail over that of self-determination. Since continental Argentines had been prevented from settling on the islands since their expulsion in 1883, "granting the island's inhabitants the right to self-determination would allow the colonial power to justify its usurpation of territory".

Mr. Bielsa further stressed that the people of Argentina remained fully committed to the peaceful settlement of the dispute and urged the Committee to continue to support the prompt resumption of negotiations on sovereignty.

Self determination

Petitioners representing the Falkland Islands Government called on the Committee to grant the people of the Falkland Islands the basic right to self-determination -- the right to pursue their own political ambitions and choice of sovereign status. The draft resolution before the Committee did not take into account the wishes and ambitions of Falkland Islanders and did not respect their right to determine their own future, said elected Councillor Roger Edwards. He added Falkland Islanders did not wish to see a change from British sovereign status and he, therefore, urged all delegates not to adopt the resolution.

Legislative Councillor Mike Summers underlined that the his country was not a colony, that the people neither felt they lived in a colony, nor did the Government of the United Kingdom treat the Falklands as a colony. The Falkland Islands (Malvinas) were "geographically, geologically, culturally, linguistically and historically different from Argentina". The international community, he said, "must not tolerate those who pursued territorial disputes, while manifestly ignoring the wishes of the people inhabiting, developing and caring for the environment and communities in those territories".

International Law

Another petitioner, Alejandro Betts, a former resident of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and now living in Argentina said that although the United Kingdom had been in possession of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) since their invasion of the islands in the nineteenth century, it was a legal fact that possession alone did not give legitimacy. He said the Committee must work to help the United Kingdom to put aside its opposition to negotiation on the status of the Islands, stressing that Argentina's claim to have her legitimate sovereign rights recognized fell perfectly within international law.

The representative of Cuba, having introduced the draft resolution, said serious negotiations allowing for the definitive and peaceful solution of the question of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands should be undertaken as soon as possible and that any situation in which tensions could rise in the South Atlantic should be avoided.

Henrique Valle of Brazil, speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, reiterated the Group's support for the work of the Committee to put an end to colonialism, based on Resolution 1514. It was essential for the two parties to resume negotiations towards a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the sovereignty dispute, in accordance with resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Special Committee.

Terumi Matsuo De Claverol of Paraguay, speaking on behalf of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) plus associate members Bolivia and Chile, said MERCOSUR members continued to support the draft resolution, as well as Argentina's sovereign rights over the Malvinas (Falkland Islands).

"An anomaly which must end"

Uruguay's representative Ambassador Felipe Paolillo said his delegation was of the view that patience played an essential role in achieving a fair solution to the conflict of the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands). The patience put to the test on this occasion was not only that of the Argentinian people; the people and Governments of the entire continent continued to watch the United Kingdom exercise a de facto sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands) as an anomaly which must end. It was an anomaly born from the violation of the territorial integrity of Argentina and justified subsequently by wrongly invoking the principle of self-determination. This principle had been erroneously interpreted to assign to the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands) the curious right, with no precedent in history, to live under the sovereignty of a state in the territory of another state.

He said it was the exercise of patience that brought his delegation to attend the Committee meetings year after year. It did so with the conviction and expectation that negotiations between the two parties would resume. The absence of negotiations could be interpreted as a consolidation of the status quo or as proof that the conflict did not exist any more. The conflict was alive and Uruguay would continue to call for its settlement until the Malvinas Islands were returned to its legitimate sovereignty.

Support for self determination

Lamuel Stanisluas from Grenada asked when the two disputants would create an environment conducive to allowing the people of the Falklands (Malvinas) to decide their own destiny and answered that it would likely be when the two parties sat down to negotiate. Could the international community not ensure that the Islands' people had the best opportunity to decide their own future and avoid leaving them to dry up like a raisin in the sun? For the moment, negotiations between the parties should concentrate upon the issues uniting the parties.

Rupert Davies from Sierra Leone said his country had consistently maintained that the present question should be resolved through peaceful means and, therefore, called upon parties to engage in dialogue aimed at achieving a final and just solution. During that dialogue, the interests of the islanders must be taken into account, as any solution that failed to do so would not be lasting. The Islanders' right to self-determination must be respected.

Fiji representative Filimone Kau said he supported self-determination as the first principle of decolonization. Noting that the recent past had seen the cooperative relationship between Argentina and the United Kingdom interrupted, and it had taken several years to normalize relations under the sovereignty umbrella arrangement, he nevertheless cautioned that the Committee would at some point have to respect the islanders' right to self-determination.

The representatives of Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, China, Syria, Indonesia, Congo, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and the Russian Federation also spoke. (ONU)