Argentina pushes Falklands claim

Ms Fernandez asked the 24-strong panel to push Britain into proper talks over the islands, which she said had been illegally occupied since 1833.

The committee itself repeated its long-standing endorsement of talks.

The annual discussion about the Falklands fell on the 30th anniversary of Britain's victory over an Argentinian military force that had tried to retake the archipelago by force.

After the 1982 war the islands became a self-governing British overseas territory, with a directly elected legislative assembly that oversees the local government. But a British governor can still veto local decisions.

Britain disputes Argentina's claim to the islands and says Argentina ignores the wishes of the island's residents, who have expressed a desire to remain British.

The islands' government announced on Tuesday that it will hold a referendum on their political future in 2013.

Argentina, which calls the islands the Malvinas, says the residents are descendents of colonists and therefore don't have the sole right to decide the islands' future.

The country's ambassador to Britain Alicia Castro contended today that the Falklands case "involves a colonial territory, not a colonised population.

"Its inhabitants are not the original people of the islands - it is a population installed by Britain after 1833."

She noted that there are only 1,339 residents on the islands who were born there, alongside 1,500 British troops.