Papal Mediation in The Beagle Conflict - The Four Phases of The Mediation

The Four Phases of The Mediation

Mark Laudy sees four phases during the mediation:

• The first phase was the shortest and most critical period of the entire mediation and began with Samoré's arrival in Buenos Aires on 25 December 1978. This was purely a crisis intervention to prevent a war and secure an agreement to submit the matter to mediation. In a shuttle diplomacy, Samoré flew between Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires until the objectives were achieved with the signing of the Act of Montevideo on January 8, 1979.
• The second period ran from May 1979, when the Chilean and Argentine delegations arrived in Rome, through December 1980, when the Pope presented the parties with his proposal for settling the dispute. This first proposal was rejected by Argentina.
• The third and longest phase, running from the beginning of 1981 until December 1983, after Argentina's return to democracy, was characterized by long periods of stalled negotiations. The most significant developments during this period were the Argentine repudiation of the 1972 General Treaty; the subsequent effort to fill the juridical vacuum resulting from that repudiation; and the Falklands war, which set the stage for the return to democracy in Argentina.
• The final phase began when Raúl Alfonsín assumed the presidency in Buenos Aires at the end of 1983 and ended with the signing of the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.