The Falkland Islands Association is an independent, voluntary organisation, based in the UK, which works to support the right of Falkland Islanders to self-determination. Its origins stem from the late 1960s and 1970s when the UK Government was in discussion with the Government of Argentina, initially without the knowledge of the Falkland Islanders, on proposals that, if implemented, would have se
riously affected their political future. The work of the Falkland Islands Committee, as it was then called, helped to mobilise UK public opinion in support of the Falkland Islanders and, after the Argentine military invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, strong cross-party support in the UK Parliament for the expulsion of the Argentine occupying forces and for the future defence of the Falkland Islands. Since then, the Falkland Islands Association has worked to:
• maintain awareness about the problems facing the Falkland Islands arising out of Argentina’s sovereignty claim and the policies that Argentine Governments have adopted in its pursuit;
• highlight the modern-day Falklands by showing how the Islands have developed – politically, socially and economically – since 1982; and to
• correct distortions of history through rigorous historical research. Argentina has not given up its sovereignty claim to the Falkland Islands and continues to pay no regard to the wishes of the Falkland Islanders, despite the overwhelming majority (99.8%) in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the internationally observed and verified 2013 referendum. Whilst that remains Argentina’s position, there continues to be a need for an organisation like the Falkland Islands Association to help to keep the facts of the issue in the public eye.
