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Falkland Islands (British Overseas Territory)

 Flag of Falkland Islands


Last reviewed: 26 June 2009

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HISTORY

Navigators of several countries have been credited with first sighting the Falklands but the earliest sighting that has been conclusively authenticated was by the Dutch sailor Sebald van Weert in 1600. The first known landing was made in 1690 by a British naval captain, John Strong. He named the Islands after Viscount Falkland, who was his patron at the time and who shortly afterwards became First Lord of the Admiralty. A few years later, the French called the Islands 'les Iles Malouines' after the port of St Malo, and it was from this that the Spanish designation, las Islas Malvinas, originated.

In 1764, a small French colony, Port Louis, was established on East Falkland. Three years later this was handed over to Spain on payment of £24,000. The Spanish renamed the settlement Puerto de la Soledad.

A British expedition reached West Falkland in 1765, and anchored in a harbour which it named Port Egmont. It took formal possession of it and of 'all the neighbouring islands' for King George III. The following year, another British expedition established a settlement of about 100 people at Port Egmont. This settlement was withdrawn on economic grounds in 1774, but British sovereignty was never relinquished or abandoned. The Spanish settlement on East Falkland was withdrawn in 1811, leaving the Islands without inhabitants or any form of government. In November 1820, Colonel David Jewett, an American national, visited the Islands and claimed formal possession of them in the name of the Government of Buenos Aires, but only stayed on the Islands for a few days. At the time, the Government of Buenos Aires, which had declared independence from Spain in 1816, was not recognised by Britain or any other foreign power. No act of occupation followed Jewett's visit and the Islands remained without effective government. On 10 June 1829, the Buenos Aires Government issued a decree setting forth its rights, purportedly derived from the Spanish Viceroyalty of La Plata, and purported to place the Islands under the control of a political and military commandant, Louis Vernet. Britain protested that the terms of the decree infringed British sovereignty over the Islands, which she had never relinquished.

In 1831, a United States warship, the Lexington, broke up Louis Vernet's tiny settlement at Puerto de la Soledad as a reprisal for the arrest of three American vessels by Vernet, who was attempting to establish control over sealing in the Islands. The captain of the Lexington declared the Falklands free from all government and they remained once again without visible authority until September 1832, when the Government of Buenos Aires appointed Juan Mestivier as Civil and Political Governor on an interim basis. The British Government once again protested to the Buenos Aires Government that this appointment infringed British sovereignty over the Islands. Mestivier sailed to the Falklands at the end of 1832 and was murdered shortly after his arrival by his own soldiers. In January 1833, after receiving instructions to visit the Islands to exercise British rights of sovereignty, the British warship HMS Clio arrived at Puerto de la Soledad and told the 24-man garrison that had arrived with Mestivier to leave. British occupation was therefore resumed and a naval officer arrived the following year to administer the Islands.

In 1841, a civil Lieutenant Governor was appointed and, in 1843, the civil administration was put on a permanent footing by an Act of the British Parliament. The Lieutenant Governor's title was changed to Governor and, in 1845, the first Executive and Legislative Councils were set up. Although there was a majority of official members in the Legislative Council until 1951, nominated members played an increasingly important part, and in 1949 members elected by universal adult suffrage were introduced into the Council. The Falklands were invaded and illegally occupied by Argentine military forces on 2 April 1982. A British task force was despatched immediately and, following a conflict in which over 900 British and Argentine lives were lost, the Argentine forces surrendered on 14 June 1982. Since then, the pace of development in the Islands has accelerated with the construction of a new hospital, a new senior school, port facilities and an international airport.

SOVEREIGNTY OF THE ISLANDS

The British Government has no doubt about Britain's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. With the exception of the 2 months of illegal occupation in 1982, the Falklands have been continuously, peacefully and effectively inhabited and administered by Britain since 1833. Argentina's claim to the Falklands is based on the grounds that, at the time of British repossession of the Islands in 1833, Argentina had sovereignty over them through her inheritance, upon independence, of Spain's possessory title (uti possedetis), through her attempts to settle the Islands between 1826 and 1833, and through the concept of territorial contiguity. However, uti possedetis is not accepted as a general principle of international law. Moreover Spain's title to the Islands was disputed and in 1811 the Spanish settlement was evacuated, leaving the Islands without inhabitants or any form of government. Argentina's subsequent attempts at settlement were sporadic and ineffectual. As for territorial contiguity, this has never been a determinant for title to islands (otherwise the Canary Islands, for example, might be Moroccan) and should not be used to overrule the right of self-determination. The Argentine Government has argued that the Falkland Islanders do not enjoy the right of self-determination, on the (false) basis that they replaced an indigenous Argentine population expelled by force. However there was no indigenous or settled population on the Islands until British settlement.

The people who live in the Falklands now are not a transitory population. Many can trace their origins in the Islands back to the early 19th century. Britain is committed to defend their right to choose their own future. The Islanders are fully entitled to enjoy the right of self-determination. It is a right which cannot be applied selectively or be open to negotiation, and one which is recognised in the UN Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Self-determination does not necessarily mean independence. Britain has willingly granted independence where it has been requested, and will continue to do so where it is an option, while remaining committed to those of its Overseas Territories which choose to retain the British connection. In exercise of their right of self-determination, the Falkland Islanders have repeatedly made known their wish to remain British. An Argentine-inspired poll, conducted in 1994, revealed that 87% of them would be against any form of discussion with Argentina over sovereignty, under any circumstances. In 1960 the United Nations General Assembly adopted its Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (GAR 1514). A committee was set up to oversee implementation of this resolution. This Committee, which became known as the Committee of Twenty-four, considered the question of the Falklands for the first time in 1964. Following its recommendations, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 2065 in 1965. The Resolution invited the British and Argentine Governments to begin negotiations 'with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem, bearing in mind the provisions and objectives of the UN Charter and of GAR 1514 and the interests of the population of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).' During 1967 and 1968 Britain entered into negotiations with Argentina based on a willingness to transfer sovereignty. Although the British Government had no doubt about British sovereignty of the Falklands, they were concerned by the difficulty of defending the Islands, and by the threat to the Islands' economy from declining world demand for wool and from their isolation without links to the mainland. However, Britain maintained throughout that any transfer of sovereignty must be subject to the wishes of the Islanders. It was on this issue that negotiations foundered.

After the 1982 conflict, Britain sought ways to restore normal relations with Argentina while upholding her commitment to the Falkland Islanders. Diplomatic relations were re-established in February 1990, less than a year after Dr Carlos Menem was elected President of Argentina. The resumption of links followed a series of talks in Madrid, in which the two sides agreed a formula to protect their respective positions on sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The formula has enabled the two governments to make progress in many fields. Nonetheless, Argentina continued to claim sovereignty over the Falklands. President Menem asserted that the Islands would be Argentine by the year 2000 and suggested shared sovereignty as a possible intermediate step. His Foreign Minister, Dr Guido di Tella, also suggested other possible forms of association between the Falklands and Argentina.

In 1994, the Argentine Constitution was amended to include a clause asserting sovereignty over the Islands, which would be pursued 'in accordance with international law'. Argentina continued to ask the United Nations to call for negotiations on the issue of sovereignty. Although the United Nations General Assembly has not debated the question of the Falklands since 1988, the Committee of Twenty-four has continued to adopt resolutions calling for negotiations between Britain and Argentina. These resolutions are flawed because they make no reference to the Islanders' right to choose their own future. Several members of the Committee have acknowledged this omission. The principle of self-determination is included in every other resolution considered by the Committee. The British position that sovereignty is not for negotiation remains unaltered. There will be no change in the status of the Falklands without the Islanders' consent. The White Paper, Britain and the Overseas Territories, presented to Parliament by the Foreign Secretary in March 1999, did not propose any change of status. It charted a new partnership with all our Overseas Territories, founded on several core principles including the right of self-determination. In the White Paper the Government said, 'Our Overseas Territories are British for as long as they wish to remain British.'

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Contacts

Falkland Islands, Stanley, Government House

Address:

Government House
Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ

Telephone:

(500) 28200
(500) 27110 Secretariat for Chief Executive

Fax:

(500) 28201

Email: gov.house@horizon.co.fk

Office hours:

GMT (early Sept to Mid April): Mon-Fri: 1100-1500 / 1615-1930

GMT (Mid April to early Sept): Mon-Fri: 1200-1600 / 1715-2030

Local Time: Mon-Fri: 0800-1200 / 1315-1630