ON a recent visit to London Members of Legislative Assembly Mark Pollard and Teslyn Barkman, met with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to update them on Covid-19 restrictions and “confirm the Falkland Islands Government’s support for the humanitarian work” to take DNA samples of the remaining unidentified Argentine soldiers. A press release this week announced that the recent exchange of notes between the UK Government and Argentine Government reaffirms the support for further work.

Previous exhumations and DNA analysis has enabled 115 people to be identified and their families informed where their relatives are buried. The Falkland Islands Government subsequently hosted two successful and historic visits by those families in March 2018 and 2019, so that they could see where their loved ones lay.

MLA Barry Elsby, Deputy Chair of the Legislative Assembly, said: “We freely committed to this humanitarian work in the 2016 Joint Communiqué signed by the British and Argentine Governments, and agreed with the Falkland Islands Government.

“It signals that all three parties recognise the significance of the Joint Communiqué and, despite the challenging global pandemic, the need to progress other matters covered within the Communiqué, such as removing obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development of the Falkland Islands and protecting fish stocks.