MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“C24 needs to decide what is more important: politics or human rights”

MLA Emma Edwards

The people of the Falkland Islands do not want to become part of Argentina and by pursuing its sovereignty claim “Argentina is seeking to colonise the people of the Falkland Islands”, said Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly Member Emma Edwards before the UN Decolonization Committee.

Ms Edwards centred her arguments in questioning the C-24 current interpretation of facts and compare it with the original purpose, spirit and principles of UN General Assembly Resolution 1514.

“What is more important to the Decolonisation Committee – people or the land? Why was this committee originally set up by the United Nations – to protect the rights of people or the rights of nations to argue over the sovereignty of land?”

“Does the Decolonisation Committee really consider that the Falkland Islands are simply a group of rocks to be traded between two large sovereign world powers – regardless of the wishes of the people who live on those rocks?” asked MLA Edwards.

The Falklands representative added that C 24 was set up to help small, vulnerable colonised territories to stand up for their rights, to allow them to determine their own futures.

“It was about supporting people and not supporting empire building. It was about supporting self-determination as a basic, but fundamental Human Right. We hope that this is still the intention and sprit of the current Decolonisation Committee”.

Why then are the Falkland Islands considered a “special and particular colonial situation” by the Decolonisation Committee? The answer in one word is: politics said MLA Edwards.

“We have two, rather than one large country involved in the question of our sovereignty. It would seem logical that this would provide even more reason for the Decolonisation Committee to stand up for and defend the rights of the people of a small Island community”.

Ms Edwards said that the UN in recent decades has strengthened Human Rights principles, such as self determination, but the question of the Falkland Islands within C24, “still works to an outdated, 45 year old resolution”

“This committee needs to make a decision, which one of these is more important to the modern United Nations in the 21st Century: politics or Human Rights.

Follows the speech by Emma Edwards, Member of the Legislative Assembly: http://mercopress.com/data/docs/c24-speech-2010-emma-edwards-mla.pdf