The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development, James Cleverly, stated that “the Falkland Islands are British” and defended self-determination for the Kelpers, after the Government decision to end the Foradori-Duncan pact.
“The Falkland Islands are British. The islanders have the right to decide their own future: they have chosen to remain a self-governing British Overseas Territory”Cleverly said on his Twitter account.
The British secretary was the one who received the information on the dissolution of the agreement in the framework of a meeting in New Delhiin the middle of the G20 Foreign Ministers Summit.
Foreign Ministry finalizes an agreement on Malvinas with the United Kingdom signed by Macri
Meanwhile, the UK Ambassador to Buenos Aires, Kirsty Hayesregretted the decision of the Foreign Ministry and considered that it was a “major deal.”
“In 2016 Argentina and the United Kingdom reached a historic agreement that, among other things, launched the process of identifying the fallen on the islands after more than 30 years. We regret that the Argentine government has now decided to abandon this important agreement “, published in his account of the social network Twitter.
The response of the Argentine government
He Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic at the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Guillermo CarmonaHayes responded and clarified that the identification process did not begin during the government of Mauricio Macri.
“Dear Ambassador @AmbKirstyHayes It is unfortunate that he tries to pass off the identification process of the #Malvinas victims as part of a Joint Communiqué. It is an obligation of international humanitarian law enshrined in an agreement that involved the UK, ARG and the ICRC,” said Carmona.
Through a thread of tweets, he pointed out: “It is definitely not true that this process began in 2016 and even less with Foradori-Duncan. This type of statement reveals the unwillingness of your government to comply with international law. That your statement whether within the framework of humanitarian obligations is, as well as lamentable, unacceptable”.
“We reiterate the will of the Argentine government to resume negotiations on the issue of sovereignty. Please, do not make humanitarian a bargaining chip for other interests that dehumanize the projects to identify the fallen,” said Carmona.
This March 2, the Foreign Ministry announced that the dissolution of the “Foradori-Duncan” pact with the United Kingdom, signed under the management of Cambiemos, was resolved and proposed a meeting to resume the discussion for sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands.
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This was announced by the foreign minister, Santiago Cafiero, in a meeting with his British counterpart, James Cleverly, in New Delhi, within the framework of the G20 Summit of Foreign Ministers. He then submitted a formal note informing the termination of the agreement and, instead, proposed to resume the discussion.
In the document, the Government maintains that “the United Kingdom has continuously carried out unilateral acts, which have been opportunely and duly protested by the Argentine Republic”, and that, throughout this time, they refused to resume the sovereignty negotiations that the United Nations is fighting for.
In another passage, it clarifies: “The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is informed that the Joint Communiqué of September 13, 2016, known as ‘Foradori-Duncan’ and its effects, are terminated.”
The chancellor raised hold a meeting between the two countries, at the UN, based in New York, to advance in a negotiation regarding the sovereignty of the territorythe air and maritime connectivity of the Islands, as well as agreeing on measures that guarantee the interests and way of life of the inhabitants and that favor the development of cultural, economic, health, and educational links with the Argentine continental territory.
In addition, he demanded that the use, conservation and preservation of natural resources in the area under sovereignty dispute be allowed and the demilitarization of those sectors be allowed.
NASA published a photo of the Malvinas Islands and ignored Argentine sovereignty
In 2016, under the administration of then President Mauricio Macri, the pact was signed “Foradori-Duncan” between Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Foradori and the Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, Alan Duncan, which was published in the form of a “joint statement” to avoid its treatment in the National Congress.
From the Foreign Ministry they consider it as “one of the most harmful events for the historic claim”since, its letter “guarantees the United Kingdom the removal of obstacles to the economic growth and sustainable development of the islands, disarming a strategy that had been promoted to put limits on the illegal occupation and the plunder of the natural resources of the archipelago “.
The document was rejected from the outset by leaders of the Frente de Todos due to its nature and permissibility before the United Kingdom regarding the exploitation of Argentine natural resources in the region, which threatens the claim of historical sovereignty.
“It is, therefore, an act that has characteristics that are manifestly illegitimate and offensive to national interests. The declaration adopts the two main British demands that Prime Minister Theresa May had made to President Macri in a letter that she had sent him a short time ago: Removal of obstacles to the exploitation of resources and flights to the continent, “they expanded from the Foreign Ministry.
Regarding Argentina’s natural resources, the statement signed by Foradori and Duncan details that it was agreed to “remove all the obstacles that limit the economic growth and sustainable development of the Malvinas Islands.”
Along the same lines, he refers to flights to the territory by arguing that both foreign ministers “agreed that additional air connections between the Malvinas Islands and third countries would be established,” in contrast to the historical demand of Argentina to promote a second flight from mainland territory through Aerolíneas Argentinas.
The communiqué also implied the lifting of administrative, legislative and judicial measures adopted to protect resources against the illegal exploitation of fishing and hydrocarbons.
The Foreign Ministry also pointed out that the pact “does not mention the sovereignty dispute, to Resolution 2065 (XX), to the violation of Resolution 31/49 that prohibits unilateral actions and that the United Kingdom is carrying out in the area. Nor does it mention the military base that exists in the South Atlantic peace and cooperation zone.”
“The only obstacle to the economic development of the Malvinas is precisely the persistence of the sovereignty dispute that the United Kingdom refuses to negotiate,” they added.
Although Guillermo Carmona declared at the beginning of 2022 that the document signed by the former vice-chancellor of macrismo and the British chancellor “had no validity” by decision of the Argentine governmentcelebrated the end of the agreement by arguing that “a dark period is being left behind.”
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