MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands/Malvinas: Celac summit, including Commonwealth members, support Argentina's 'legitimate' claims

The two day deliberations were not that harmonious since Niacaragua's Ortega walked out

The Celac summit held in Costa Rica and which brings together all Latin American and Caribbean countries released a declaration expressing full support for Argentina's 'legitimate' rights over the Falklands/Malvinas, recalls that 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Resolution 2065 (first UN Assembly General resolution on the Falklands dispute) and again call on the goods offices of Ban Ki-moon to help start negotiations on the Argentina/UK dispute.

Argentine officials have also pointed out to the fact that the resolution on the Malvinas Question was supported by Caribbean Commonwealth members such as Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.

Celac stands for Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the brain child of former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, does not include the US or Canada and was originally geared to displace the influence of the Organization of American States which is seated in Washington.

The declaration points out that the heads of State and Government of Latin American and the Caribbean, gathered in Costa Rica, on 28 and 29 January 2015, in the framework of the 3rd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC),

1. Reiterate their strongest support to the legitimate rights of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, as well as the permanent interest of the countries of the region for the governments of Argentina Republic and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to find, as soon as possible, a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Organization (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS), as expressed in the previous Declarations of the Río Group and the Latin America and Caribbean Summit (CALC), particularly the Summit of Riviera Maya, Mexico, of 23 February 2010, which are part of the historical heritage of CELAC;

2. Recall that the 16 December 2015 will mark the 50th anniversary of the passing of United Nations General Assembly resolution 2065 (XX), the first resolution specifically referring to the Malvinas Islands Question, subsequently renewed through resolutions successively passed by the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Special Committee on Decolonization through to the present day. They are also pleased to note the significant contribution made by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization in its consideration of the Question over the last fifty years since the passing of resolution 2065 (XX);

3. In this regard, the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States entrust the Pro Tempore Presidency to request the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to renew his efforts to fulfill his mission of good offices that was entrusted to him by the General Assembly through successive resolutions, in order to ensure that negotiations to find as soon as possible a peaceful solution to the aforementioned dispute are resumed and to report on the progress achieved in the fulfillment of such mission.
4. Moreover, they reiterate the importance of complying with the provisions of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 31/49, which calls upon both parties to refrain from adopting decisions that entail the introduction of unilateral modifications to the situation while the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas are going through the process recommended by the General Assembly;

5. They underscore the continuous constructive attitude and willingness of the Argentine Government to reach, through negotiation, a peaceful and definitive solution to this anachronistic colonial situation on American soil”.

Celac members include Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.