The Representative of Guyana Emphasized the Concilia
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224 Chapter VIII. Maintenance of intcrnatloaal peace and security ry to seek recourse at the regional level before appeal I’ Ibid., paras. 38-44. to the Council.*’ I1 Ibid.. paras. 45-56. The representative of Guyana emphasized the rp Ibrd., paras. 59-68. conciliatory character of the draft resolution which it *O 234lst mtg., paras. 17-22. had co-sponsored with Panama, summarized the 21 Ibid., paras. 91-104. basic elements of the text and expressed hope that the *I 2343rd mtg.. paras. 38-70. Council, by consensus, would endorse the attempt to jJ s/I 4941, OR, 37th yr.. Suppl. /or April-June 1982. The drafi bring the parties to the negotiating table.26 resolution was subsequently put to the vote and failed of adoption, Following the suspension of the meeting for con- owing to the negative vote of a permanent member. sultations,* the President put the draft resolution to I4 2347th mtg.. paras. 5-48. the vote. It received 12 votes in favour and I against, *’ Ibid.. paras. 5 l-78. with 2 abstentions, and failed of adoption owing to z6 Ibid.. paras. 133-l 38. the negative vote of a permanent member of the 27 Ibid., para. 139. Council.** I( For the vote, see ibid., para. 140. See also chap. IV in the After the vote, the representative of the United present Supplfmenl. States indicated that his delegation had not been in a Ip 2347th mtg., paras. 142-148. position to vote for the draft, since it had failed to be y, Ibid.. paras. 149-152. supportive of the Council as well as of the regional 3’ Ibid., paras. 154-l 58. structure of OAS and had disregarded certain key jr Ibid., paras. 160-163. elements of the Central American problem, namely, the intervention of the Sandinista junta in the affairs of its neighbours.29 The representative of the United Kingdom ex- 10. LETTER DATED I APRIL 1982 FROM THE PERMA- plained his abstention by noting that the draft NENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED KING referred to two General Assembly resolutions that his DOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRE- Government had not supported when they were LAND TO THE UNITED NATIONS ADDRESSED TO adopted and about which it maintained its reserva- THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL tions.‘O The President, speaking in his capacity as the Decision of 3 April 1982 (2350th meeting): resolution representative of Zaue, invoked Articles 52 and 33 of 502 (1982) the Charter and regretted that the Council seemed By letter’ dated I April 1982 addressed to the not merely to disregard but even to re’ect the President of the Council, the representative of the approach to re ional agencies for the Centra1 Ameri- United Kingdom requested an immediate meeting of can situation.’8 the Council as his Government had good reason to The representative of Nicaragua charged that the believe that the armed forces of the Argentine United States had vetoed fundamental principles of Republic were about to attempt to invade the the Charter.“* Falkland Islands. At the 2345th meeting, on 1 April 1983, the Council included the item in its agenda. Following the adoption of the agenda, the Council invited the following, at their request, to participate in the NOTES discussion without the right to vote: at the same I VI491 3, OR. 37th yr.. Suppl. fir Jan.-March 1982. meeting, the representative of Argentina; at the ‘s/14927, ibid. 2349th meeting, the representatives of Australia, 1 In a letter dated 30 March 1982 (S/14936, ibid.), the rcprcsen- tativc of Nicaragua challenged the position taken by Honduras and Canada and New Zealand; and at the 2350th meet- conveyed his Government’s views on the competence and jurisdic- ing, the representatives of Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay tion of the Council under the Charter of the United Nations vis-d- and Peru.* The Council considered the item at its vis matters within the Organization of American States (OAS). 2345th. 2346th, 2349th and 2350th meetings, from I 4 For details, see chap. III in the present Supplemenl. to 3 April 1982. ‘2335th mtg., paras. 7-88. Opening the discussion, the representative of the 6 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 119. United Kingdom declared that there had been differ- ‘2335th mtg., paras. 91-147. ences for many years between his Government and s A/34/542, annex. the Government of the Republic of Argentina con- 92336th mtg., paras. 3-14. cerning the Falkland Islands. The United Kin dom 1oS/14914. annex. had exercised sovereignty over the Falkland Is fands II 2336th mtg., paras. 16-21. since early in the nineteenth century and continued I* Ibid., paras. 25-40. For similar statements, see 2337th mtg.: to do so today. Viet Nam. oaras. 83-93: 2339th mm.: Lao Peoole’s Democratic For several years, the uestion of the Falkland Republic, paras. 84-96. koxambiqu< paras. 98-i 16. and Poland, Islands had been discussed% y the General Assembly. paras. 7 I-82; 2342nd mtg.: the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, paras. 86 99; and 2347th mtg.: the German Democratic Republic, paras. 83- In accordance with the recommendations of the 93. General Assembly, the British Government and the I1 2336th mtg.. paras. 42-49. Government of Argentina had held a series of l’2337th mtg., paras. 6-34. meetings to discuss the situation in the Falkland I’ Ibid., paras. 37-62. For similar statements, see ibid.: Guyana, Islands. Representatives of the two Governments had paras. 65-80; 2339th mtg.: China, paras. 130-135; 234191 mtg.: confirmed m New York at the end of February their Spain, paras. 6-13; 2342nd mtg.: Ireland, paras. 23-52, and wish to continue their discussions within the negoti- Zimbabwe, paras. 73-81; and 2343rd mtg.: Madagascar, paras. 83- ating framework. But the Ar entine Government 101. appeared to have decided, folf owing those discus- I6 2339th mtg., paras. 6-30. slons, that it did not wish to continue on that course. Part II 225 Lately, relations between the United Kingdom and of islands, a dependency of the Malvinas Islands. Argentina had deteriorated as a result of an incident That aggression constituted one more episode in the in South Georgia, one of the dependencies of the violence that had been perpetrated by Great Britain Falkland Islands. The United Kmgdom had exer- on 3 January 1833, when it had taken possession of cised sovereignty over South Georgia since 1775, the Malvinas Islands, seizing the Argentine authori- when the island had been discovered by Captain ties residing there and expelling almost all of the James Cook. The Ar entine claim to South Georgia inhabitants. dated only from 1927 and was presumably based on the island’s alleged proximity to the Argentine main- The islands had been part of the national territo land. On I9 March 1982, an Argentine navy cargo since the independence of the Republic, throu 2 vessel had been anchored in nearby Leith Harbour natural succession of the unquestionable rights that and a large party of Argentines had begun setting up the Spanish Crown had over them and which had had camp. The United Kingdom Government had sought governors there since 18 I I. In exercise of those immediate clarification from the Argentine Govem- rights, Argentina in 1820 had sent the frigate La ment, both at Buenos Aires and in London, making Heroina, under the command of David Jewett, who, clear that it regarded the incident as potentially in compliance with instructions from the Buenos serious and asking the Argentines to arrange for the Aires Government, had taken effective possession of immediate departure of the ship and party. The the islands. On IO June 1829, the political and Ar entine Government had declared that no serving military governorship of the Malvinas Islands had mi fitary personnel were involved. It had also stated been established. that it was, however, unreasonable to expect the At no time had Great Britain objected to the Argentine Government to seek British authorization Argentine establishments in the Malvinas Islands. for their presence on territory claimed by Argentina. When, in February 1825, it had signed a treat of It had been made clear to the Argentine Govem- friendship, commerce and navigation with the dov- ment that Britain could not allow even a small emment., reco nizing Argentine independence, no number of men to remain on the island and that the reservations wfi atsoever had been put forward con- captain of HMS Endurance had been instructed as a ceming the islands. But in 1833 they had been last resort to take the men on board, without using usurped by Great Britain, the foremost naval Power force, and to return them to Argentina via Port of the era. Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. The Since that time, the Argentine Republic had never Argentine Government had replied that it would ceased to call for the return of that part of its territory regard such an action as gravely provocative. that had been occupied illegally. On 25 March 1982, an Argentine naval transport On I6 December 1965, by an overwhelmin ma- vessel had arrived at Leith Harbour to deliver jority, the General Assembly had adopted resoB ution supplies to the men ashore. 2065 (XX), in which it had taken note of the After an extensive exchange of messages between existence of a dispute between the Governments of the two Governments, the Argentine Foreign Minis- Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning sov- ter, in his reply of 3 1 March 1982, had declined to eretgnty over the islands; and had invited both discuss further the problems occasioned by the illegal countries to pursue negotiations so as to find a presence of Argentine nationals on South Geor ia.