The Question of the Malvinas Islands, understood as the sovereignty dispute between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, arose on 3 January 1833 as the United Kingdom, to the detriment of Argentina's territorial integrity, unlawfully occupied the islands and removed Argentine authorities, preventing their return as well as the settlement of Argentine nationals from the mainland territory. Since then, Argentina has systematically objected to British occupation, ratifying its sovereignty and affirming that recovering this territory, in accordance with international law, is a permanent and unrenounceable goal.
The Question of the Malvinas has been defined by the United Nations as a special and unique case of decolonization with an underlying sovereignty dispute; therefore, unlike in most colonial cases, the principle of self-determination is not applicable.
On 16 December 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2065 (XX), whereby it recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom, calling upon the two countries to negotiate in order to find a peaceful, definitive solution to the dispute, taking into account the interests of the islanders. Since then, more than 40 General Assembly and Special Committee on Decolonization resolutions have reiterated this request.
In addition to the repeated resolutions issued by the General Assembly and to the discussion of the Question by the Special Committee on Decolonization, Argentina has received firm support from Latin American countries for its legitimate sovereignty rights over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, and the call to resume negotiations has been backed by the Organization of American States, the Group of 77 and China, and other multilateral and regional fora.
The Question of the Malvinas Islands has been, is and will remain a key issue for all Argentine nationals, as stated in the First Transitory Provision of the Argentine Constitution: "The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime and insular areas, as they are an integral part of the national territory. The recovery of those territories and the full exercise of sovereignty over them, while respecting the lifestyle of their inhabitants and in accordance with the principles of International Law, are a permanent and unrenounceable goal of the Argentine people."