Flag of the Falkland Islands

The flag of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands in its present form was approved on 25 January 1999. It is a Blue Ensign with the flag of the United Kingdom in the canton (upper corner left) and the coat of arms of the British Overseas Territory superimposed.

History and use

The first flag of the Malvinas was adopted in 1876 and consisted of a Blue Pavilion with the old coat of arms of the islands superimposed. The shield (and therefore the flag) was modified on October 16, 1925.

The first shield was a stamp consisting of an image of the HMS Hebe (which brought many of the early British settlers to the islands, including Richard Moody, in the 1840s) in San Carlos Strait, past overlooked by a bull (representing the wild cattle that once roamed the islands). A new insignia of the islands was introduced on 16 October 1925, divided diagonally, featuring the Desire with blue background and a sea lion on a gold background, with the motto of the islands as a slogan. This coat of arms later replaced the image of the bull and the ship on the flag.

On September 29, 1948, the flag was updated to include the current coat of arms superimposed on a white disc. In 1999 the size of the shield was increased and the white disc was removed to create the current flag.

The flag used until 1999, but red (Pabellón Rojo) instead of blue, was adopted in 1998 and is used as a civil ensign. It was previously used by British ships in waters around the islands. The Governor of the Falkland Islands uses a flag of the United Kingdom with the arms of the islands in the center. This flag was placed on Government House at the end of the 1982 war.

The flag at the British Foreign Office headquarters.

Since its creation, the flag has been used to represent the islands internationally, such as in the Commonwealth Games.

The flag was flown at various government buildings in London including 10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Whitehall on June 14, 2012 to mark the 30th anniversary of the end of the Malvinas war. Since then, every June 14 the flag is raised over the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following a British government announcement, the flags of all the Overseas Territories were present as part of Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee parade and have been displayed at state ceremonies ever since.

The flag of the British territory in relation to the dispute with Argentina

The Malvinas Islands are an archipelago administered by the United Kingdom and claimed by the Argentine Republic. During the Falklands War of 1982, when the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands were once again occupied by Argentina, the Argentine flag was used again in said archipelagos.

According to the Argentine position, the islands are part of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida and Islas del Atlántico Sur, so it considers that the flag of that province is the one that flies in the Falkland Islands, although it never flew over them as it was made official in 1999.

Refusal by Latin American countries to receive ships flying the flag of the British territory of the Malvinas

In November 2010, the 12 member nations of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) signed a document stating that the British flag of the Malvinas is illegal and an agreement not to allow ships flying that flag to enter their ports, to support the Argentine claim. In this regard, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said that it was the first time that there was talk of an "illegal flag".

The member States of Unasur undertake to adopt, in accordance with international law and their respective domestic legislation, all measures that may be regulated to prevent the entry into their ports of ships flying the illegal flag of the Malvinas Islands.

The document also detailed the offshore oil exploration of the islands:

They commit themselves within the framework of the existing international agreements, to inform the Argentine government of those vessels or naval devices with wastewater vessels that include the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands with cargoes for hydrocarbon and/or illegal mining activities on the Argentine continental shelf and thus prevent these activities from being consolidated.

In December 2011, the government of Uruguay decided to take the measure of rejecting ships flying the flag of the Malvinas Islands that have these islands as their destination. Because of this, the British government requested "urgent" explanations from the Uruguayan government for these measures taken and sent its ambassador Patrick Muller to start talks with Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro. President José Mujica announced that all the countries of the Mercosur bloc reached an agreement to prevent Malvinas-flagged vessels from stopping at ports in the region.

At the Mercosur summit, held in Montevideo in January 2012, it was agreed that the countries that are members of said organization should prohibit receiving ships flying the Falkland flag, although the arrival at the ports of the respective countries was not prohibited for ships with commercial red badge. Through their respective foreign ministries, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile ratified the blockade of Malvinas-flagged ships:

Uruguay regards the Falkland Islands as an English colonial position in Latin America and therefore cannot recognize its flag.

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay

In the face of recent press reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should specify that Chile will continue to apply, in accordance with international law and Chilean legislation, measures aimed at preventing vessels flying with the flag of the Malvinas Islands from entering the national ports.

Communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile

Since then, some ships have entered Mercosur ports with the islands' civil Red Flag. British Foreign Minister William Hague took steps in Chile, Brazil and Uruguay to change his position.

In early 2012, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) also announced a ban on vessels flying the flags of the islands entering its ports.

In June 2014, two members of the Legislative Assembly of the islands told the UN Decolonization Committee that Argentina is carrying out a policy that tends to "economically suffocate the islands", carrying out actions such as closing the entrance to the ports of Mercosur boats with the island flag.

Gaucho Rivero Law

On August 25, 2011, the legislature of the province of Tierra del Fuego approved the Gaucho Rivero law that prevents the mooring of British ships in Tierra del Fuego. Laws with the same name were passed by the legislatures of the rest of the coastal provinces of Argentina.

The Gaucho Rivero Law establishes in its article 2 that:

The permanence, mooring or supply or logistics operations in the provincial territory of British flagships or desirability, carrying out tasks related to the exploration, exploitation of natural resources, military vessels, within the scope of the Malvinas Islands basin on the Argentine continental shelf.

"Flags of Convenience" refer to the flags of colonies of the United Kingdom.

Controversy on WhatsApp

In January 2016, an update to the mobile messaging service WhatsApp caused controversy among users in Argentina by including the British colonial flags of the Malvinas and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands among its icons..

Gallery

Other flags

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  Current teaches red.

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  Governor's flag.

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  British military flag used in the Falkland Islands.

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  Flag of the Falkland Islands according to the Argentine claim, being considered jurisdiction dependent on the province of Tierra del Fuego Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands.

Old flags

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  Flag used between 1876-1925.

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  Flag used between 1925-1948.

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  Flag prior to 1999 of red, occasionally still used.

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  Flag used between 2 April and 14 June 1982 during the South Atlantic conflict.

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  Flag used between 1948-1999, was banned during the 1982 Argentine reoccupation.