Formal proposal as a basis for negotiations

The Government of the Argentine Republic, in the context of its State policy and with the approval of the Senate and Chamber of Representatives Committees for Foreign Relations, carrying out the United Nations mandate which imposes tothe parties a peaceful settlement of the dispute over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), addresses the following proposal to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a basis for negotiations:

1. Question of sovereignty

a) The Argentine Republic (henceforth, “Argentina”) reiterates its wish to recover the exercise of its sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich at a date to be agreed with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (henceforth, “United Kingdom”)
b) The United Kingdom declares that it will restore the exercise of sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich to Argentina, at a date to be agreed with the latter, subject to the conditions set out in the present agreement.

2. Name

a) The territories object of the present agreement will be called “Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur y Sandwich del Sur” in Spanish and “Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands” in English.
b) The historically traditional toponymy in Spanish and English will be maintained. Only the government of the Special Province may introduce new names.

3. Organisation

a) The Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich will constitute a province with a special regime, subject to the conditions established in the present agreement. Its name will be “Special Province of the Falkland Islands and South Atlantic Islands” (henceforth, “the Special Province”)
b) The Special Province will enjoy all the powers, rights and guarantees established by the Constitution of the Argentine Nation regarding provinces, in addition to what is recognised in the present agreement. The Argentine federal government (henceforth, “the federal government” or the “Federal State”) will not be able to intervene in the Special Province.
c) The Special Province will have its own Constitution. Laws and ordinances currently in force will remain in essence unchanged, adapted only – if necessary – to come in line with the provisions of the present agreement.
d) The Governor and the Legislative Assembly will be elected by universal suffrage by the citizens enrolled on the provincial electoral roll. The Special Province will send 1 representative and 3 senators to the Argentine National Congress. The number of representatives may be increased based on the number of inhabitants, in accordance with relevant legislation. The Judiciary will be independent and has the final say.
e) The Special Province will enjoy an autonomous customs and tax regime. Goods originating in mainland Argentina and those produced in the Special Province will be exempt from payment of customs duties in both directions. The Special Province will be able to have its own currency and postal system. The federal government will not be able to collect taxes on the territory of the Special Province. The regime of federal co-participation will not be applicable to the Special Province.
f) The Special Province will be entitled to its own representation before international bodies of a technical nature. Argentina undertakes to promote the constitution of a Regional Fisheries Management Organisation for the South Atlantic in which the Special Province will be able to have its own representation, voice and vote.
g) The Special Province will have its own flag. The flag must fly together with the Argentine flag.

4. Nationality

a) Argentina and the United Kingdom undertake to guarantee the permanent recognition of dual nationality to all those persons who possess it by virtue of the present Article.
b) Residents of the Special Province born in the Special Province or on mainland Argentina will have Argentine nationality. Residents who were not born in the Special Province or on mainland Argentina will be able to obtain Argentine nationality if they so desire, in accordance with the legislation in force.
c) Residents of the Special Province who have British nationality and all persons born in the Special Province who are not residents and who hold British nationality will continue to hold this nationality. The United Kingdom will accord British nationality to all descendants of the persons mentioned in the present paragraph, without temporal conditions or time limits.
d) To the ends of the present agreement, all persons who have resided on the territory of the Special Province for at least seven years prior to the entry into force of the present agreement are considered to be residents.

5. Language

a) The language of the Special Province will be English. The government of the Special Province will promote knowledge of the Spanish language.
b) The federal government will guarantee translation into English of the National Constitution and national legislation. The federal government will endeavour to promote knowledge of the English language on the mainland.
c) The federal government will use the name of the Special Province in the following manner: “Islas Malvinas e Islas del Atlántico Sur (Falkland Islands and South Atlantic Islands)”, and the government of the Special Province will use the following denomination: “Falkland Islands and South Atlantic Islands (Islas Malvinas e Islas del Atlántico Sur)”.

6. Right of residence

a) Only persons so authorised in accordance with the legislation of the Special Province will be able to reside on the territory of the Special Province. Persons born on the territory of the Special Province and their descendants will always enjoy the right to reside in it.
b) Residents of the Special Province will be free to choose to reside on mainland Argentina.

7. Distribution of the resources of surrounding maritime areas

a) Resources situated in the territorial sea surrounding the land territory of the Special Province (12 nautical miles) belong to it in their entirety.
b) Beyond the territorial sea, resources situated in the continental shelf and the fishery conservation zone within the currently existing 150 mile radius belong jointly to the federal State and the Special Province, in the proportion of 84% for the Special Province and 16% for the Federal State.

8. Services guaranteed by the Federal State

a) The Federal State guarantees to the Special Province the same services as it does to the other provinces of Argentina, including free access to state establishments of primary, secondary and university education. The federal government will promote the access of residents of the Special Province to the National Health Service and agreements with private health and educational institutions on the mainland that share the same cultural origin as the current residents.
b) The federal State will guarantee aerial and maritime communication between the Special Province and the mainland.

9. Scientific activities

a) Scientific activities in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands will be the responsibility of the relevant federal and/or provincial institutions.
b) Argentina and the United Kingdom will jointly promote the development of scientific activities and conservation of flora and fauna in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.
c) The British government may develop scientific activities in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, with previous notification of the Argentine government. The Argentine government may verify the nature of these activities, similarly to what is established in Article 7 of the Antarctic Treaty.

10. Consular services

a) The United Kingdom will establish a permanent consulate in the capital of the Falkland Islands.
b) All other consular representation must be subject to authorisation by the federal government.

11. Demilitarisation

a) The territory of the Special Province will be demilitarised. The Special Province will establish a provincial security force.
b) The British government will be able to maintain its military presence in the Special Province for a provisional three-year period.

12. Referendum

The Legislative Assembly can decide, by a three-fifths majority, to hold a referendum on whether the Falkland Islands should assume full sovereignty, thirty years after the beginning of the implementation of the present agreement. The referendum will be held one year after that decision is taken.

13. Adaptation of the internal law of the Parties

The Parties will, if necessary, adapt their internal law in light of the dispositions of the present agreement.

14. Guarantees

The Governments of [Canada] and of [the Federal Republic of Brazil] will be guarantors of compliance with the present agreement.

15. Dispute settlement

Any dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom relating to the interpretation and application of the present agreement will be the subject of direct negotiation. The party which considers a dispute to exist will communicate this to the other party and the guarantor States, indicating the nature of the dispute. If after 180 days from said notification the parties do not reach an agreement, either one may submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice. Over the course of the 180 days, the guarantor States may act jointly as mediators, at the request of either party or on their own initiative.