UK defends Falkland Islands resource rights at UN committee
Ambassador Kate Foster criticized Argentina’s decision to initiate maritime arbitration and reaffirmed Britain’s sovereignty position.
The United Kingdom has defended the Falkland Islanders’ right to manage their natural resources, criticizing Argentina’s decision to initiate arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ambassador Kate Foster, the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, set out that position before the UN’s Special Political and Decolonization Fourth Committee.
Foster characterized Argentina’s arbitration decision as an attempt to undermine islanders’ rights and livelihoods. She said Falkland Islands law governs hydrocarbon operations on the islands’ continental shelf and maintained that those activities comply fully with international law, including UNCLOS.
Reaffirming Britain’s sovereignty claim, Foster included the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and their surrounding waters. She also said the islanders’ right to self-determination was established by the UN Charter and both UN human rights covenants.
Foster cited the 2013 referendum, saying 99.8 percent of participants supported retaining British Overseas Territory status. She said independent international observers monitored the vote and pledged continued UK support for the islanders’ political wishes and economy.
