Baroness Chapman delivers intervention on the Falkland Islands at the Organization of American States
Secretary General, Assistant Secretary General, ministers, delegates, friends.
On behalf of the United Kingdom, I would like to thank Antigua and Barbuda for hosting this important assembly.
The UK's relationships with our friends and allies across the Americas are important to all of us.
Be it climate change, security, or sustainable development - we face the greatest challenges together.
And indeed, for more than two centuries now, the UK and Argentina have shared bilateral relationships - as part of a long, rich history.
My friend the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has met President Milei a number of times.
Earlier this year, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich enjoyed a highly successful visit to the UK.
And even where we disagree, we are working together to reduce tensions.
So, in September 2024, my friend the Foreign Secretary and the former Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino announced a new package of cooperation.
This recognised that while we may not agree on sovereignty, there is much we can achieve by working together in the South Atlantic.
The UK and Falkland Islanders have come together to implement this - including support for Argentine families travelling to the Falkland Islands in December last year, to visit graves from the 1982 conflict.
For a community living with the trauma of invasion and occupation, that was not easy.
Yet, Falkland Islanders wanted to do the right thing.
Both the UK and Falkland Islanders look forward to seeing Argentina making good on their commitments.
That includes cooperation on fisheries for the benefit of all, and the resumption of the flight between the Islands and São Paulo.
The UK remains determined to work with all our partners, including Argentina.
And the UK's support for the Falkland Islanders' inalienable right of self-determination remains undiminished.
Falkland Islanders alone should decide their future.
In the referendum they held in 2013, Islanders voted to maintain their status as a self-governing UK Overseas Territory - overwhelmingly.
Five of the six observers of the referendum came from the OAS Member States - reporting that it was free, fair, and reflected the will of the voters.
Today, the Falkland Islands are a democratic and prosperous community - showing the world what is possible on sustainable fisheries and environmental conservation.
They are determining their own future.
And their success has been recognised by S&P Global Ratings - who have given the Falkland Islands an impressive A Plus.
And this is an objective recognition of the stable and thriving community that the Islanders have built.
And later this year, the Falkland Islands will hold a general election to decide their next government.
They will vote on issues such as education, the economy, and the environment.
So, I hope this assembly will recognise that we cannot pick and choose who is entitled to the basic human right of democracy.
The people of the Falkland Islands are rightly proud of their vibrant, small-island, big ocean democracy.
And they are clear - that neither the UK nor Argentina can negotiate the future that they are determining for themselves. So let me be clear: my government will not negotiate on the future of the Falkland Islands, unless the Islanders themselves wish it. And they do not.
I was delighted that many of your governments continue to engage constructively with the Falkland Islanders and have expressed your support for their democratic rights, and I hope that members of the Assembly will agree that we cannot selectively choose when democratic rights apply to a community.
The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime areas.
And we have no doubt about the principle and the right of self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter and in article one of the 2 UN Covenants on human rights.
By virtue of this, Falkland Islanders can determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development - freely.
So, the UK asks that the General Assembly takes note of the Islanders' right of self-determination - and that this statement is read into the record of this meeting.
Thank you.
