Falkland Islands
Population: 2,955 (2,940 excluding military personnel)
GDP: $77.1 million (in 2004), GDP per head: $26,
125 (2004)
Key industries: Fisheries, livestock agriculture
and tourism
Geography
478. The Falkland Islands are an archipelago
of around 700 islands in the South Atlantic, the largest being
East Falkland and West Falkland. They are situated about 480 miles
north-east of Cape Horn and 300 miles from the nearest point on
the South American mainland. The Islands have a total land area
of 4,700 square miles - more than half the size of Wales. Stanley,
the capital (population 2,115 in 2006), is the only town. Elsewhere
in Camp (the local term for the countryside), there are a number
of smaller settlements.
History
479. The first known landing was made in 1690
by a British naval captain who named the Islands after Viscount
Falkland, First Lord of the Admiralty at the time. French seal
hunters, who were frequent visitors in the eighteenth century,
called the Islands 'les Iles Malouines' after the port of St Malo,
and it was from this that the Spanish designation, las Islas Malvinas,
originated. In 1764, a small French colony, Port Louis, was established
on East Falkland. Three years later this was handed over to Spain
on payment of £24,000 and renamed Puerto de la Soledad. A
British expedition reached West Falkland in 1765, and anchored
in a harbour which it named Port Egmont. It took formal possession
of West Falkland and of "all the neighbouring islands"
for King George III. The following year, another British expedition
established a settlement of about 100 people at Port Egmont, although
this settlement was withdrawn on economic grounds in 1774. The
Spanish settlement on East Falkland was withdrawn in 1811, leaving
the Islands without inhabitants or any form of government.
480. In November 1820, Colonel Daniel Jewett,
an American national, claimed formal possession of the Islands
in the name of the government of Buenos Aires, but only stayed
on the Islands for a few days. At the time, the government of
Buenos Aires, which had declared independence from Spain in 1816,
was not recognised by Britain or any other foreign power. No act
of occupation followed Jewett's visit and the Islands remained
without effective government. On 10 June 1829, the Buenos Aires
government issued a decree setting forth its rights, supposedly
derived from the Spanish Viceroyalty of La Plata, and purported
to place the Islands under the control of a political and military
governor, Louis Vernet. Britain protested that the terms of the
decree infringed British sovereignty over the Islands, which she
had never relinquished.
481. In 1831, a United States warship, the Lexington,
destroyed the fort at Puerto de la Soledad as a reprisal for the
arrest of three American vessels by Vernet, who was attempting
to establish control over sealing in the Islands. The captain
of the Lexington declared the Falklands free from all government
and they remained once again without visible authority until September
1832, when the government of Buenos Aires appointed Juan Mestivier
as Civil and Political Governor on an interim basis. The British
Government once again protested to the Buenos Aires government
that this appointment infringed British sovereignty over the Islands.
Mestivier sailed to the Falklands at the end of 1832 and was murdered
shortly after his arrival by his own soldiers. In January 1833,
after receiving instructions to visit the Islands to exercise
British rights of sovereignty, the British warship HMS Clio arrived
at Puerto de la Soledad and requested that the Argentines leave.
British occupation was therefore resumed and the Islands were
administered by a naval officer.
482. The United Nations Committee of 24 (see
para 35, Chapter 2, Part One) began considering the question of
the Falklands in 1964. Following its recommendations, the General
Assembly adopted Resolution 2065 in 1965. This invited the British
and Argentine governments to begin negotiations "with a view
to finding a peaceful solution to the problem, bearing in mind
the provisions and objectives of the UN Charter and of […the
Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples (GAR 1514)] and the interests of the population of
the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)." During 1967 and 1968 Britain
entered into negotiations with Argentina, but these foundered.
483. The Falklands were invaded by Argentine
military forces on 2 April 1982. A British task force was despatched
immediately and, following a conflict in which over 900 British
and Argentine lives were lost, the Argentine forces surrendered
on 14 June 1982. Diplomatic relations were re-established in February
1990. The resumption of links followed a series of talks in Madrid,
in which the two sides agreed a formula to protect their respective
positions on sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction over the Falkland
Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Nonetheless,
Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the Falklands.
Constitutional status
484. The present constitution dates from October
1985, and was amended by orders in 1997 and 1998. The constitution
includes the Islanders' right of self-determination. The Governor
presides over an Executive Council composed of five members: three
elected and two ex-officio (the Chief Executive and the Financial
Secretary). In addition, the Attorney General and the Commander
of the British Forces in the Falkland Islands attend by invitation.
The Legislative Council has eight elected members as well as the
two ex-officio members of the Executive Council. It is chaired
by a speaker. The Governor retains responsibility for external
affairs and the public service, but the elected Councillors have
a substantial measure of responsibility for the conduct of their
Territory's affairs. The Governor is obliged to consult the Executive
Council in the exercise of his functions (except in specified
circumstances, for example on defence and security issues, where
he must consult and follow the advice of the Commander of the
British Forces in the Islands). Although he has the constitutional
power to act against the advice of the Executive Council, he would
be required, without delay, to report such a matter to the British
Government with the reasons for his action. After wide public
consultation, a select committee of the Falkland Islands Legislative
Council published a report in May 2007 making a number of recommendations
for constitutional change.[689]
Evidence received
485. The Committee received four written submissions
from the Falkland Islands, including two from the Falkland Islands
Legislative Council.
486. The Committee heard oral evidence from Councillor
Summers of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council in December
2007.
487. A delegation of the Committee visited the
Falkland Islands in March 2008.
Key recommendations
- We recommend
that the FCO works with the Falklands Islands government and the
Ministry of Defence to ensure that the future air service allows
the Islands to develop their tourism industry. We also recommend
that in its response to this Report the FCO states clearly what,
if any, it considers the UK's entitlement would be in respect
of potential oil and gas revenue from the Falkland Islands and
from other Overseas Territories.
(para 322)
- We conclude that there are a number of issues
to be considered, including cost, practicability, safety and environmental
impact, before a decision can be taken on whether to carry out
de-mining in the Falkland Islands. We therefore welcome the Government's
announcement that it has sought an extension of the deadline to
meet the UK's obligations under the Ottawa Convention. We recommend
that the Government should discuss the results of its recent feasibility
study with Falkland Islanders before coming to any decision about
landmine clearance. (para 328)
- We agree with the Public Accounts Committee that
the UK Government should not fund aviation regulation in Territories
that are able to pay for this service. However, it must ensure
that it responds to Territory government criticisms of the designated
regulator before moving to charging for the service. (para 377)
- We conclude that when the visit by President
Kirchner to the UK is rearranged the Government must use this
opportunity to raise issues of concern to the Falkland Islands.
In particular we recommend that the Prime Minister call for an
end to Argentina's obstruction in relation to use of its airspace
and that he also highlight potential logistical issues if Argentine
families are allowed to fly in to visit graves. We also recommend
that the Prime Minister should press the Argentine President to
agree to the establishment of a Regional Fisheries Management
Organisation for the South West Atlantic and reiterate the Islands'
right to develop a hydrocarbon industry. (para 386)
- We conclude that the Government was right to
submit a claim to the UN Commission for the Limits of the Continental
Shelf for the seabed around Ascension Island. We recommend that
the Government should submit a similar claim for the continental
shelf around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands. We also recommend that the Government should
in its response to this Report state its current policy on seabed
claims in relation to the continental shelf around the British
Antarctic Territory. (para 427)
689 Ev 144 Back
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