Milei says Argentina will ‘take matters into its own hands’ over Falklands
Argentine President Javier Milei has said his country will “take matters into its own hands” over the disputed Falkland Islands rather than wait for the United Nations to act.
Milei made the remarks during the U.N. General Debate in New York on Wednesday, criticizing the organization’s handling of Argentina’s sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the Falklands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
“I come here today to tell you that Argentina is not going to sit and wait for the U.N. and the international community to live up to their own mandate. It will take matters into its own hands,” Milei said.
Milei pointed to the Sea Lion oil project in the North Falkland Basin, saying it was moving toward extraction under British licenses that Argentina considers illegal and illegitimate. He described the area as part of Argentina’s continental shelf and said activity without Argentine authorization violated both international and Argentine law.
He said Argentina had already sent notices discouraging involvement in the project, pursued available legal measures and imposed sanctions on companies involved and their suppliers. His government had also submitted legislation to Congress to defend national sovereignty, he said.
The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, east of southern Argentina. Britain administers the islands, while Argentina claims sovereignty over them. The dispute also encompasses South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding waters.
Milei cited U.N. General Assembly Resolution 31/49, adopted in 1976, which calls on the parties to refrain from unilateral changes while the sovereignty dispute remains unresolved.
“Fifty years later, the situation has not changed, but the unilateral changes continue,” he said.
Milei also challenged Britain’s reliance on the islanders’ right to self-determination. He described them as a population “implanted by the occupying power” and argued that the principle did not apply to the dispute.
Britain maintains that the islanders should determine their own future. In a 2013 referendum, an overwhelming majority voted to retain the territory’s status as a British Overseas Territory.
Argentina and Britain fought a war over the islands in 1982 after Argentine forces invaded. British forces retook the territory, which has remained under British control.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
