Argentina, The UK, And Overcoming The Legacy Of The Past

Until now, my enduring memory of the Falklands War was of a car park in Washington DC.

My father was serving in our Embassy there at the time. Later it was claimed that the US simply handed key military components over to us in the Embassy’s car park, so urgent was the cause, so deep the relationship between our governments. Many years afterwards I went to work in the same Embassy myself. I would look at the innocuous car park, think of the Falklands, and wonder: could that possibly have been true?

I have had reason to think about the Falklands in recent weeks, and rather more profoundly. Indeed, in a way that has forced me to face the reality of that war, and what it means. Not in the superficial terms of a schoolboy caught up in the national fervour of the time, or of a diplomat speculating in an idle moment. But in terms of what it means for people’s lives, and in particular for families who lost loved ones.

Many died during that short war. Nearly 1,000 Argentine and over 250 British servicemen were killed, as well as three Falkland Islanders themselves. After the conflict the Argentine dead on the Islands were buried in a cemetery there. The Government of Argentina at the time refused to discuss the possibility of transferring the bodies. Over 120 soldiers were never identified. They remain in anonymous graves on the Islands to this very day.

A couple of years ago the Government of Argentina approached the ICRC for their help in identifying those unidentified soldiers, using the latest DNA techniques. This set in train a process that led to two days of discussions in Geneva last week between the UK, Argentina, and the ICRC. Despite the dispute over sovereignty, despite the UK’s clear political and military commitment to the Falkland Islands, all sides were able to come together to recognise a simple humanitarian truth: that the families of those soldiers have suffered terribly, never truly knowing the fate of their loved ones, and deserved help.

I led the UK delegation. The talks were intensive and lasted longer than planned. But over those two days something important became clear. Which was that all sides were committed to finding a way through that would allow us to cooperate on this humanitarian project, despite all the political sensitivities. At a time when many think conflict and alienation are winning out over dialogue and understanding, it was humbling to see the representatives of all those caught up in that conflict 35 years ago seeking to overcome the bitter legacy of the past.

Many Falkland Islanders have understandably worried that this process would become politicised. They nevertheless agreed to this initiative, as the right thing to do for the families. We were very conscious of the trust they had placed in the UK delegation, and were determined to ensure it was not misplaced. Our Argentine colleagues were equally focused on sticking to practical arrangements. For their part, the ICRC chaired the discussions with a calm professionalism that contributed greatly to their eventual success.

The Humanitarian Project Plan will now go to ministers of both countries for final agreement. It is part of a process by the two governments to build a new and better relationship for the future. But for the families of those soldiers, it will mean something more important: answers, after all those years.