Buenos Aires, June 10, 2024
This day commemorates the 195th anniversary of the creation of the Political and Military Command of the Malvinas Islands and those adjacent to Cape Horn by the Government of the province of Buenos Aires.
On June 10, 1829, through a Decree, it was established that: “The Malvinas Islands and those adjacent to Cape Horn in the Atlantic Sea will be governed by a Political and Military Commander immediately appointed by the Government of the Republic.” A government structure was thus established, at the head of which D. Luis Vernet was appointed, who settled on the islands and publicly exercised his authority and jurisdiction.
In her capacity as heir to the titles of Spain by succession of States, in accordance with the principle of uti possidetis iuris, Since the beginning of the emancipation process in 1810, Argentina permanently exercised its rights over the southern archipelagos located there.
The first national governments of the United Provinces took into account the Malvinas in various administrative acts, which they considered an integral part of their territory. On November 6, 1820, Argentine Navy Colonel David Jewett took possession of the Malvinas Islands on behalf of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, raising the Argentine flag for the first time. The Argentine government also proceeded to dictate regulations and establish the legal and administrative structures that consolidated the full exercise of its sovereignty, including the promotion of the development of commercial activities and the establishment of population, culminating in the creation, on June 10 of 1829, of the Political and Military Command of the Malvinas and those adjacent to Cape Horn.
However, on January 3, 1833, said effective exercise of sovereignty was interrupted by an act of force carried out in peacetime by the United Kingdom, which illegally occupied the islands, expelling the legitimate Argentine authorities already settled there. the existing population. Through this usurpation, carried out in times of peace, and contrary to the international law of the time, the territorial integrity of Argentina was broken, a situation immediately rejected and protested, which no Argentine Government has consented to in more than 191 years.
Since then, there has been a sovereignty dispute between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly through resolution 2065 (XX) adopted in 1965. That is why that the United Nations has established that the way to put an end to the special and particular colonial situation in the question of the Malvinas Islands is the peaceful and negotiated solution of the controversy between both countries.
In compliance with the aforementioned resolution, since 1966 and for 16 years, both countries carried out negotiations to reach a solution to the sovereignty dispute. However, and despite the countless invitations from Argentina and the urging of the United Nations, the United Kingdom systematically refuses to resume sovereignty negotiations.
In turn, the international community has reiterated the need to resume bilateral negotiations as soon as possible, which was expressed in 10 resolutions of the General Assembly and in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, as well as in various declarations from regional and multilateral forums, such as the Organization of American States, the Group of 77 and China, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Ibero-American Summits, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), among others .
On November 4, 1982, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by a large majority Resolution 37/9 a few months after the end of the South Atlantic conflict, which determined that the war did not modify the nature of the dispute over sovereignty nor resolved it.
In this sense, and within the framework of the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution – which establishes the recovery of the effective exercise of our sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and island spaces, in accordance to international law and respecting the way of life of its inhabitants, as a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people – the Argentine Government reiterates its willingness to resume sovereignty negotiations with the United Kingdom, while proposing to advance a common agenda in areas and topics of mutual interest. In this sense, the Argentine Government wishes to maintain a mature relationship with the United Kingdom, which contemplates a substantive and constructive dialogue on all issues of common interest with a view to generating a climate of trust conducive to the resumption of negotiations.
On this date that is always important for all Argentines, we reaffirm once again our rights of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia Islands, South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime spaces, as all of them are an integral part of our national territory.
