On January 3rd 1833, the Malvinas Islands, an integral part of the Argentine territory, were illegally occupied by military forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Argentine Republic, since the beginning of its existence as an independent nation, expressed through government acts its strong will to exercise its effective sovereignty over the archipelagos and maritime areas in the South Atlantic, as rightful successor to Spain. That exercise of sovereignty was interrupted 186 years ago, when the British occupation took place; an act that Argentina protested immediately and never consented.
Recovering the full exercise of Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, in accordance with international law and with full respect of the lifestyle of the inhabitants, is a permanent and non-renounceable goal of the Argentine people, as established in the Argentine Constitution.
The United Nations acknowledge the existence of a colonial situation in the Malvinas Islands and of an underlying sovereignty dispute which must be solved by the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom through bilateral negotiations, taking into account the interests of the inhabitants of the islands.
Argentina has the continuous support of the countries of the region to its legitimate sovereignty rights in the Question of the Malvinas Islands, both bilaterally and through regional fora. Other multilateral fora, such as OAS the G77 and China and the Iberoamerican Summits, have also expressed the need for the resumption of negotiations.
The Argentine Government has expressed its disposition to resume the negotiations aimed at finding a solution to this sovereignty dispute and reiterates its will to continue working to generate favorable conditions for that to happen.
In this significant date for our country, the Argentine Government and People reaffirm once more its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty rights over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.