DISCURSO EN LA SESIÓN “CUESTIÓN MALVINAS”, DEL COMITÉ DE DESCOLONIZACIÓN DE LA ONU
Roger Edwards
[15 de Junio de 2012]
[15 de Junio de 2012]
[Versión en inglés]
Mr Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies
and gentlemen, I am Roger Edwards, an elected Member of the Falkland Islands
Legislative Assembly and I take great pleasure in making this statement to you
all today on this our thirtieth Anniversary of Liberation from the illegal
invasion and 74 day occupation by the armed forces of Argentina. As a result of that defeat, Argentina lost its brutal military dictatorship and has subsequently experienced the longest period of democracy in its history. Unfortunately, this has not stopped Argentina from persisting with its attempts to deny the people on the Falkland Islands our democratic rights.
This Argentine Government attempts to
distance itself from the actions of previous Argentine military governments. I
accept that Argentina has changed and I am pleased that it has. However, I do
not understand how the Government of Argentina can absolve itself and its
people from its recent past, while simultaneously seeking to punish and harm a
small and peaceful Falkland Islands’ people for something that it incorrectly
claims to have happened almost two centuries ago.
This Argentine Government claims to fight
against colonialism, yet wishes to take away our people’s rights, annex our
islands and subject our people to alien subjugation and domination – the very
definition of colonialism.
This Argentine Government claims that
Argentines are banned from visiting or settling in the Islands. This claim is
not borne out when you look at the number of Argentines visiting by both sea
and air every year nor by the small but significant number of Argentines who
live permanently in the Islands. Many of these Argentines have lived
sufficiently long in the Islands to now consider themselves Falkland Islanders.
This Argentine Government claims to fight
for human rights. What about the rights of Falkland Islanders? Or do human
beings not have human rights if they reside on a piece of land that Argentina
wants?
This Argentine Government claims that the UK
is ignoring United Nations General Assembly resolutions, when it is itself
ignoring the United Nations Charter which obliges all members to respect the
principle of equal rights and self-determination.
In summary this is all clear evidence of
hypocrisy. I understand from the recent news that the accusation of hypocrisy
is not something new for this Argentine Government, but it is nonetheless
symptomatic of this Argentine Government and its policy towards the Falkland
Islands. I can assure you however, that the Falkland Islands Government does
not try to interfere with the currency or location of our citizens’ savings.
This Government of Argentina has been
conducting economic warfare against the people in the Falkland Islands. During
the last few years Argentina has withdrawn from almost all forms of
co-operation. In addition, it has banned charter flights through its airspace;
under Presidential Decree 256, it has threatened to intercept shipping; it has
attempted to persuade other South American countries to refuse lawful entry of
Falkland Islands registered ships and, through intimidation and association, it
has tried to harm and damage our hydrocarbons industry. Moreover it has
attempted to damage our fishing and tourism industries which we have been
successfully developing.
The Falkland Islands has grown out of its
colonial status and has become a democratic Overseas Territory of the United
Kingdom. It now has devolved powers and a new post-colonial constitution, as
well as new found wealth and, since the eviction of the Argentine forces on
this day in 1982, we have moved forward with a new found energy and confidence
to face the future. Our post colonial constitution is, in itself, a reflection
of our aspirations to press on with internal self-governance. Today, therefore,
all that we ask for is the right to determine our own future without having to
endure the belligerent and bullying tactics of a neighbouring country.
Mr Chairman, last year we invited you and
members of the Committee to our Islands so that you could see for yourselves
the progress that we have made in developing our Islands, our Constitution and
our internal self Government. The special Committee offers advice on the
options available to Non Self-Governing Territories in the exercise of their right
to self-determination and we could have discussed this in detail. Sadly, you
did not take up this very genuine invitation and so I extend the same
invitation to you again today. I am sure that by accepting, by seeing our
Islands and by talking to our people, you will recognise just how important it
is to us to exercise our right of self-determination as we are currently doing.
Mr Chairman, we in the Falkland Islands were
somewhat dismayed to see that your predecessor visited Argentina but did not
accept our invitation to visit. My understanding, Mr Chairman, is that this
committee and its members are expected to adopt resolutions on the basis of an
impartial and informed understanding of the issues. How can this Committee
truly understand the issue and adopt resolutions when it has never officially
visited our Islands? First hand knowledge is always helpful.
There is no alternative to the principle of
self-determination. Within both United Nations General Assembly resolutions and
international law, it is explicit that the right of self-determination applies
to ALL peoples. It does not say SOME peoples, or even ALL peoples except those
involved in a sovereignty dispute, as Argentina would like you to think.
Argentina tried to insert that exact language in a General Assembly resolution
in 2008 and failed, with the General Assembly re-iterating that
self-determination applied to ALL peoples, with no pre-conditions. Argentina
has consistently attempted and, quite rightly failed to dilute the principle of
self-determination under the United Nations Charter.
I find it interesting that this Special
Committee’s draft resolution on the Falkland Islands does not recall or
reaffirm all of the principles of the United Nations Charter. Considering that
the principles of the United Nations Charter prevail over all other
international agreements and resolutions, it is strange that this draft
resolution only appears to reaffirm some of the principles of the Charter of
the United Nations.
It is however heartening to see that it does
recall General Assembly Resolution 1514 of 1960. This was the founding
resolution for the Decolonisation Committee. It declared and I quote:
“The subjection of peoples to alien
subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental
human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an
impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation.” It also declared;
“All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they
freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic,
social and cultural development.” Argentina is currently imposing an economic
blockade on the Falkland Islands and so is acting against the very principles
of Resolution 1514.
Let me be clear, if the United Kingdom were
to negotiate sovereignty with the Republic of Argentina against the wishes of
the Falkland Islands’ people, this would deny us our right to
self-determination. In addition, it would be subjugation and domination by the
United Kingdom and the Republic of Argentina thus constituting a denial of
fundamental human rights, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations.
Argentina has argued for many years that
General Assembly Resolution 1514 also declares, and I quote “Any attempt aimed
at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial
integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations.” The problem with this is that facts do not
support Argentina’s claim.
Firstly, the principle of territorial
integrity did not exist in 1833. If it did the world would look very different
today. But more importantly the Islands were never Argentine! No Argentine
civilians were ever forcibly expelled from the Islands in 1833! Records prove
this as fact. At that time Argentina was a brand new country, half the size it
is today, and did not even have territorial integrity over Patagonia, let alone
the Falkland Islands. Argentina stopped protesting over the Falkland Islands
after ratifying the Convention of Settlement in 1850. In the years that
followed, Argentine Presidents, such as Bartolome Mitre, Domingo Sarmiento and
Vice President Marcos Paz confirmed publicly that Argentina had no dispute with
Britain and Argentine Constitutions made no mention of the Falkland Islands.
Argentina only submitted one official protest between 1850 and the Second World
War. With Argentina’s agreement, this issue was resolved 162 years ago.
History does not support Argentina and
neither do any of the modern principles of the United Nations Charter. A
peoples’ right of self-determination is a fundamental modern democratic right
which takes precedence, a point which has been highlighted time and again by
decisions of the International Court of Justice, international arbitrations and
through peoples’ revolutions across the globe.
Under the auspices of the United Nations
General Assembly, Resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960, people from Non Self Governing
Territories can exercise self-determination and reach full measure of Self
Government by ‘Free Association’, by ‘Integration’ or by becoming
‘Independent’. There is however a fourth way!
In a paragraph taken directly from the 2004
brochure on the “United Nations and Decolonisation” is the following statement:
“In 1970 it was agreed by the legal
committee of the General Assembly” that in addition to the above “three
options, the emergence into any other political status, as long as it is freely
determined by the people, can also be considered a way of implementing the
right of self-determination by that people.”
In other words, should the majority of the
people so wish, and as long as they can demonstrate their own free will to
remain as they are, the United Nations will accept the status quo.
Mr Chairman, we have had in the past, a poll
conducted under the watchful eye of the internationally acclaimed firm Mori, to
ascertain where the people thought their future lay. An overwhelming 96% of the
electorate wished to retain the status quo and remain as an Overseas Territory
of the United Kingdom enjoying full internal Self Government while looking to
the United Kingdom for guidance on its foreign policy and for its defence, such
defence only being required because of the ongoing belligerence shown by our
closest neighbour.
Mr Chairman, the Government and the people
of the Falkland Islands announced on the 12th June, that we have decided to
conduct a referendum to re-affirm to the world, if re-affirmation were needed,
our wishes to retain the status quo, to remain under the sovereignty we desire.
The referendum will be conducted within the next year and will be observed by
an internationally recognised body ensuring free and fair voting and the
outcome reported as a true wish of the people.
Sadly, Mr Chairman, there is one in the
Argentine delegation today who has already declared this exhibition of
self-determination to be illegitimate and not complying with international law.
Perhaps he is suggesting that the United Nations Charter itself is illegal;
because it supports the right of all peoples to determine their own future. Mr
Chairman, I am confident that the outcome of this referendum will show a
similar result to the poll conducted previously. It will express the wishes of
the Islanders and show this Committee and the world that the people of the
Falkland Islands know what we want for our future. That will be true
self-determination in action.
Mr Chairman, thank you.
ROGER EDWARDS
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