Teachers and researchers from the School of International Relations of the UNR formed the Malvinas Study Group to produce knowledge about the Argentine claim and provide it to the community.

Since 1833, when the United Kingdom occupied the Malvinas Islands by force, expelled their inhabitants and established a colonial regime, Argentina has claimed the rights to effectively exercise its sovereignty and recover its territorial integrity, that is, to recover part of the territory that was is illegally occupied.

In order to monitor and analyze the events surrounding the sovereignty of the islands and issues related to the South Atlantic, a team of teachers and researchers from the School of International Relations of the Faculty of Political Science of the UNR formed in 2016 the "Malvinas Study Group".

It collects, analyzes and produces knowledge considering the various historical, political, diplomatic, geopolitical, economic and legal perspectives that go through the problem to provide updated information to the academic community and society as a whole.

Among its activities, we can point out the dictation of the seminar "Malvinas: History and Geopolitics" and the organization of talks and conferences as well as the creation of the "Malvinas Observatory", through which it monitors the main news published in the media on the Malvinas Question.

To understand the Malvinas Question, the teachers begin by citing the National Constitution of 1994: "The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, as they are an integral part of the of the national territory. The recovery of said territories and the full exercise of sovereignty, respecting the way of life of its inhabitants and in accordance with the principles of International Law, constitute a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people.”

Argentina upholds the principle of territorial integrity and rejects the application of the principle of self-determination to the inhabitants of the archipelago. This is because the current inhabitants of the islands are not recognized as a "people" who after being colonized seek their freedom, but are a population implanted by the United Kingdom from 1833. The approximately 3.500 current inhabitants of the islands they hold British citizenship, with the majority being of British descent.

Regarding the current situation, the researchers explain that since the return to democracy in 1983, the call to resume bilateral dialogue was a constant claim of successive Argentine governments that try to claim Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands by peaceful means. In this sense, "the war did not alter the nature of the bilateral controversy or put an end to the sovereignty dispute" as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly.

However, "the United Kingdom considers its victory in the war as sufficient reason to end the dispute, systematically refusing to start negotiations again and ponder the principle of self-determination of the islanders, thus violating the provisions of the United Nations" , they explain.

It should be noted that the international community supported Argentina's legitimate rights in the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands. The United Nations, Mercosur, the Organization of American States, UNASUR, the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Rio Group, the Group of 77 + China (G77), the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, the South America-Africa Summit and the South America-Arab Countries Summit issued various statements in support of the Argentine position and the call for the resumption of negotiations.

So why do the British continue to colonially occupy the Falkland Islands in the XNUMXst century? The UNR professors explain that there are a number of fundamental reasons why the United Kingdom holds its colonial occupation fiercely through unprecedented militarization in the region.

From an economic point of view, the fishing industry means a multimillion-dollar business at the expense of the predation of the marine fauna of the South Atlantic. In addition, there is a potential exploitation of oil reserves in the Malvinas basin and mineral resources of the soil and subsoil of the seabed.

From a geopolitical point of view, the location of the islands gives the United Kingdom a strategic position from a commercial and military level, since it can control the southern bi-oceanic corridor from them. In addition, it provides NATO with the main military base in the South Atlantic, which is located in Monte Pleasant. On the other hand, the Antarctic projection that the English make from the archipelagos should be considered, sustaining sovereignty claims over a sector of the Antarctic territory that overlaps with that claimed by Argentina.

The bicontinental map

One aspect that researchers highlight is the bicontinental map. This shows the Antarctic sector and the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in their real proportion in relation to the continental sector, as well as the new outer limits of the Argentine maritime platform approved by the United Nations between 2016 and 2017.

"This cartographic representation offers an image that helps us better understand which territories belong to us and over which we have current sovereignty claims." National Law 26.651 of 2010 establishes the obligation to use at all levels and modalities of the educational system the bicontinental map of the Argentine Republic made by the National Geographic Institute.

Humanitarian Project Plan

From the "Malvinas Observatory" they refer to the Darwin cemetery. It was built by the International Committee of the Red Cross so that the Argentine soldiers who fell on the different battlefields of the Malvinas war were there. Of the total of 649 Argentines who died in the conflict, 237 of them were buried in this cemetery and more than half were unidentified. Contemplating the need for the humanitarian request of relatives of the fallen and ex-combatants, London and Buenos Aires agreed to the exhumation and DNA analysis of the remains that could not be identified.

Thus, by an agreement between the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom in December 2016, the International Committee of the Red Cross was entrusted with the task of identifying 121 graves in the Darwin Cemetery, whose tombstones read "Argentine Soldier Only Known By God". So far, the location and identification of 115 Argentine heroes could be established.

The Falklands Studies Group of the Research Institute of the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of the UNR is made up of professors and researchers Carla Morasso, Carlos Da Silva, Javier Orso, Martina Mántaras and Maximiliano Barreto, along with undergraduate students. and postgraduate, as well as external specialists.

Journalist: Victoria Arrabal