Uma Kumaran
Role at the time: UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State responsible for the Overseas Territories, in a statement posted on X
Statement summary
UK Overseas Territories minister Uma Kumaran said Argentina's decision to open arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was the latest attempt to undermine Falkland Islanders' rights and livelihoods. She said hydrocarbon activity on the islands' continental shelf follows Falkland Islands law and international law, that the UK had told Argentina's ambassador its efforts to obstruct lawful economic activity were deliberate attempts to undermine the islanders, and that this raised questions about Argentina's reliability as a partner.
“Argentina's decision to initiate arbitration against the United Kingdom under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the latest attempt to undermine the rights and livelihoods of the people of the Falkland Islands.”
Why we used this label
Relative to Argentina's sanctions and legal action against the Sea Lion project, Kumaran rejects the arbitration as an attempt to undermine Falkland Islanders and calls efforts to obstruct the oil activity deliberate and irresponsible, so we labeled it Condemned.