Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in the South Atlantic.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have obtained written clarification from the UN Legal Counsel as to the remit and mandate of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). This confirms that the CLCS has no jurisdiction over the sovereignty of any land territory. That would of course include the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has noted that the CLCS cannot consider claims relating to disputed areas. In this case that would include the Falkland Islands. The British Government remains in no doubt over its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, and has no doubt about the right of the Islanders to determine their own future.