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Written question asked by Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party) on Friday, 22 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 May 2016. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Wednesday, 4 May 2016 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Falkland Islands: Argentina

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the Falkland Islands of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf finding that they are in Argentinian territorial waters.

Answer

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for East Devon (Mr Swire), on 13 April 2016 (PQ 33811).

"The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has no jurisdiction to consider areas subject to competing claims and therefore has no locus to make recommendations in relation to the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has acknowledged that the CLCS could not consider those parts of the original Argentine submission of 2009 that were subject to dispute. This would include the Falkland Islands."

Furthermore, the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falklands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future. We will continue to make that clear to Argentina and other countries in the region.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL7846
Session
2015-16
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Falkland Islands Sovereignty Territorial waters Argentina Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk