The United Kingdom, he said, had no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas of those territories, he said. The principle of self-determination, enshrined in the United Nations Charter, underlined the position of the United Kingdom on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. The islanders had the right of self-determination and the right to develop their economy, including developing their natural resources for their own economic benefit. His Government unequivocally supported that right. The islanders had made their views clear in the recent referendum when they had voted overwhelmingly in support of retaining their constitutional links with the United Kingdom.
Using the right of reply, the delegate of Argentina said that her nation’s President had stated — on 14 June 2012 in the Decolonization Committee and on 25 September 2012 at the General Assembly — that the Malvinas Islands were Argentina’s national territories “illegally occupied” by the United Kingdom. Many resolutions recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute, she said, calling on the United Kingdom to agree to resume negotiations towards a peaceful and lasting solution.
She said her delegation noted with regret that the Government of the United Kingdom had attempted to delay a solution. That tactic was a clear demonstration of a lack of certainty about what the United Kingdom considered as their territories. The so-called “referendum” by the inhabitants on the dispute islands was not legitimate and did not put an end to the dispute and unquestionable rights of Argentina. She also rejected unilateral actions, citing hydrocarbon exploration and military activities of the United Kingdom. Lastly, she reaffirmed Argentina’s sovereignty over those islands and the surrounding maritime territories.
Also speaking in right of reply, the representative of the United Kingdom stressed the importance of respecting the fundamental human rights of the islanders, including the right to determine their future. There would be no negotiation unless the islanders so wished. His country had administered the islands for 180 years peacefully and could trace inhabitants nine generations back. His delegation wished to have a friendly relationship with Argentina as a neighbour. But the United Kingdom did not intend to do anything against the islanders’ will and behind their back.
In exercise of the second right of reply, Argentina’s speaker expressed regret over the comment made by the United Kingdom’s delegate. She said that Argentina, as a country committed to defending human rights, respected the right of self-determination of peoples in accordance with pertinent United Nations resolutions, and no resolution on the Malvinas issue had included that principle as it involved a sovereignty dispute.
The Assembly next turned to a draft resolution on the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, (document A/67/L.60). It was introduced by Guatemala’s representative, who said that the Commission, created under Guatemalan legislation under the Secretary-General’s auspices, had strengthened national institutions in the justice and security sectors. Its activities, financed through contributions of the Government, as well as from the international donor community, had fortified the country’s legal framework through the provision of technical assistance and a subsidiary role to Guatemalan entities involved in criminal prosecution.
A dramatic example, he said, was the sentencing of a former Head of State on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in 1982. The draft before the Assembly sought to give continuity to resolution 65/181, and acknowledged the note of the Secretary-General recommending an extension of the Commission’s mandate for another two years until September 2015. He strongly reaffirmed that extending the “life of the Commission” would improve the ability of the Guatemalan State to meet its responsibility.
Before action, a representative of the European Union Delegation said that at every stage thus far, the Union had provided support to structural reform processes of the justice and security sectors in Guatemala in its fight against impunity. The Union had played a critical
