The Organisation of American States (OAS) on Friday reiterated its call for the United Kingdom and Argentina to resume negotiations "as soon as possible" in order to find a peaceful solution to the dispute over sovereignty of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Islas Malvinas, which are located around 600 kilometres from its mainland. Britain insists it has historically ruled the Falklands Islands, as it calls them, and notes that islanders voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining British in a 2013 referendum.
The two nations fought a brief war over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in 1982. After 74 days of fighting – in which 649 Argentines, 255 Britons and three islanders were killed – the British forces emerged triumphant.
With the exception of the war, Argentina has claimed sovereignty over the disputed islands through diplomatic channels for almost 200 years. It has regularly won support at the diplomatic level, with the majority of the Americas backing its claim, but the UK has refused to discuss sovereignty.
At an OAS General Assembly held in Antigua and Barbuda, the multilateral body on Friday adopted by acclamation a declaration reaffirming the need for Argentina and the United Kingdom "to resume, as soon as possible, negotiations on the sovereignty dispute" over the territories and the surrounding maritime areas.
"This controversy must be resolved through dialogue" between both parties, said Argentina’s representative to the OAS, Carlos Cherniak, who thanked the organisation for its commitment to include the issue on its agenda every year until a resolution is reached.
"The United Kingdom continues to refuse dialogue, citing a supposed principle of self-determination in favour of the British inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands," said Cherniak.
Cherniak accused the United Kingdom of "continuing to take unilateral decisions" and of granting "licences and concessions for the exploration and exploitation of natural resources," such as hydrocarbons and fisheries.
Argentina has claimed the archipelago, located some 600 kilometres off its coast in the South Atlantic, for nearly 200 years. It says its claim lies in the fact that the United Kingdom "occupied the islands by force in 1833, expelled the original population and did not allow their return, violating Argentina's territorial integrity."
The United Kingdom rejects Argentina’s position and considers that the roughly 3,600 inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands have the right to self-determination.
Argentina's Foreign Ministry says the principle of self-determination does not apply to the Malvinas and – backed by several United Nations resolutions, the first issued in 1965 – has called on London to open sovereignty talks.
OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin Friday said Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and surrounding maritime areas "should be recognised through respect for international law.”
The United Kingdom maintains that it will not negotiate, arguing that the islands belong to Britain and that in a 2013 referendum, nearly 100 percent of the islanders voted to remain under British sovereignty.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei hailed the OAS statement on Friday as a new breakthrough, but opposition leaders noted that the organisation has regularly backed the sovereignty call on an almost annual basis.
In the past, Milei has sparked controversy for openly admiring former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who led the UK government during the war.
The President reportedly has a photograph of Thatcher in his office at the Casa Rosada presidential palace.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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