The Falklands / The Malvinas - (again?)

[Data-Lynx]

UN Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization

Ladies and Gentlemen. If you really want a 'threat', it is more likely to arise from the UN Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization, not from land, sea or air. The Times had it right today. We might agree with the Islanders and the UK stated view, but we are being isolated. Uruguay now supports the Argentina claim. One chair of this UN committee noted recently about the Falklands:

The year 2010 would not only mark the conclusion of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, but also 45 years since the General Assembly had expressed, for the first time, the need for bilateral negotiations between the two parties.

There is a Falkland Islands (Malvinas) UN Working Paper, dated 18 Mar 09, which dealt with the "Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples." In it, the UK stated:

The British Government attaches great importance to the principle of self-determination as set out in Article 1.2 of the Charter of the United Nations and article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. That principle underlies our position on the Falkland Islands.

The Falkland Islands are not a colonial enclave. Britain’s Overseas Territories are British for as long as they want to remain British. The people of the Falkland Islands have chosen to retain their link with Britain. The democratically elected representatives of the Falkland Islands once again expressed their own views clearly when they visited the United Nations for this year’s debate in the Committee of 24. They asked the Committee to recognize that they, like any other people, were entitled to exercise the right of self-determination. They reiterated that the people of the Falkland Islands did not wish for any change in the status of the Islands.

There can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish.

The United Kingdom has no doubts about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

This is all good stuff but who was listening? Representatives from Argentina and the FIG Legislative Assembly attended the 9th meeting on 18 Jun 09. The main outcome was a unanimous approval of a text calling for direct negotiations over the Falkland Islands. There was a follow up meeting on 19 Jun 09. It may be boring but I suggest that the 'battleground' is in New York, not on the edge of a disputed boundary around the islands.