Malvinas Islands, 50 years after the adoption of Resolution 2065

A few days ago, the Huffington Post published an article on its blog on the Malvinas Islands. The author makes a brief account of the history of the islands and ends by saying that the Argentine claim "is constant as the wind." Although, I will not put into question some aspects of the article, I want to highlight this last sentence: "a claim now as constant as the wind." And the United Nations has had much to do with it since in 1965 it recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute over the islands between Argentina and the UK and called the two parties to find a peaceful solution through bilateral negotiations. For Argentina, with the support of many other countries, the islands are an integral part of its territory. Even after the Revolucion de Mayo in 1810, Malvinas were considered by the first governors as part of the territory inherited from Spain. In 1820 Colonel Jewett took possession of the Malvinas Islands on behalf of the Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata at a public ceremony, witnessed by citizens of different nationalities, as reflected in newspapers of that time. In 1829, the Argentine government established a Political and Military Command of the Malvinas, headed by Mr. Vernet. On January 3, 1833, the Clio Corvette appeared at Puerto Soledad, where Argentina's Sarandi ship was anchored. The English captain demanded the withdrawal of the Argentine vessel. Pinedo, Commander of Sarandi, recounted his forces and realized that he could not continue the resistance, because the English forces outnumbered his. And the Sarandí decided to depart and had to sail all the way back to Buenos Aires. That same day, the Argentine authorities were expelled from the islands. It does not matter how many Argentines were expelled or remained. Those who stayed were never given the right to own land as they were not considered "settlers", a status reserved only for British citizens. "Whenever possible, Argentina has repeated its protests against the act of force and illegal occupation", Argentina's Ambassador Jose Maria Ruda said in his statement delivered in September 1964 the Subcommittee III of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. The victory of Law Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, Argentina has presented the case, taking especially into account the process of decolonization under the Charter. In 1960, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 1514 (XV) that proclaimed "the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations", enshrining two fundamental principles that were to guide the decolonization process: self-determination and territorial integrity. In implementing that resolution, General Assembly adopted Resolution 2065 (XX) on December 16, 1965, whereby it expressly acknowledged the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the islands and invited both countries to negotiate for find a peaceful solution to the dispute. December 16 marks 50 years since the adoption of Resolution 2065 (XX) which received 94 votes in favor, 14 abstentions and 0 votes against. I would like to honor the significant role played by this resolution for Argentina and for Latin America. The adoption of Resolution 2065 was a diplomatic victory that enabled talks between the two countries unfortunately stalled today: it described the special colonial situation in the Islands, called for dialogue between the two countries taking into account the interests of the inhabitants of the Islands. I'd like to add one last thing that seems to be forgotten by certain pseudo jurist propaganda in social networks: Resolution 2065 is fully valid, it has not "expired" nor will "expire" as long as the existing situation in the Malvinas Islands persists. Its precepts have been renewed to this day by the General Assembly and its Special Committee on Decolonization. The fiftieth anniversary of its adoption and a promising future for two nations that share so many core values allow us to hope that negotiations will resume to solve this outstanding issue within the framework of diplomacy.