Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to protect the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, the South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, and surrounding maritime areas. Nor do we have any doubt about the principle and the right of self-determination for the Falkland Islanders. This means there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders so wish. The 2013 referendum - in which 99.8% of those who voted wanted to maintain their current status as a territory of the United Kingdom - made clear that the people of the Islands do not want dialogue on sovereignty. UK Ministers and officials work to support the Falkland Islanders in protecting their right to determine their own future, including at the UN Special Committee on Decolonization and in other multilateral fora.