Eduardo A. Roca

Eduardo Alejandro Roca was born on 15 December 1921 in Buenos Aires to Marco Roca and Maria Teresa Hunter.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xJ4R0t9G3oC&q=roca|title=International Who's Who, 1983-84|publisher=Europa Publications Ltd.|year=1983|isbn=9780905118864|page=1170}}{{cite web|url=https://rulers.org/indexr3.html|title=Index Ro-Ry|website=rulers.org}} He was the grand-nephew of Julio Argentino Roca, the eighth President of Argentina.{{cite web|url=https://www.mendozapost.com/nota/85445-el-perfil-de-la-candidata-de-macri-a-la-procuracion/|title=El perfil de la candidata de Macri a la Procuración|website=Mendoza Post|date=21 March 2018 }}{{in lang|es}}

In 1944, Roca worked as a lawyer at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).[http://www.roca-sarrabayrouse.com.ar/es/miembro1.html Eduardo A. Roca.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029213841/http://www.roca-sarrabayrouse.com.ar/es/miembro1.html |date=2016-10-29 }} Estudio Roca & Sarrabayrouse

Among his public functions, he served as Undersecretary of Justice of the Nation (1962–1963) and Director of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (1970–1971).

In 1966, Roca was appointed ambassador to the Organization of American States and in 1968 as ambassador to the United States.[https://www.pagina12.com.ar/103364-el-ahttps://www.pagina12.com.ar/103364-el-amor-es-ciego ¿El amor es ciego? {{in lang|es}}]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In February and March 1967, the Second Extraordinary Inter-American Conference of the OAS was held in Buenos Aires. There, the de facto government of Juan Carlos Onganía proposed the creation within the American organization of a Defense Advisory Committee. The bill established that the committee would advise on problems of military collaboration and would act "as a preparation body for self-defense against aggression". In one of his exhibitions previous to March of that year (1967), Ambassador Roca commented that the problems of security and defense "are, by nature, key strategic problems to solve in peace all others that interest the American continent." In a speech in March 1968, Roca spoke of "subversive activity," instead of possible external enemies. At the time of the vote, the draft submitted by Argentina had six votes in favor, eleven against, and three abstentions.{{cite book |title=Lanús 1984 |pages=163–165}}

Roca was a member of the Board of Directors of the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires and of the Superior Council of the Faculty of Law of the same house of studies between 1960 and 1964. He was also a professor in the Faculty of Law of the Argentine Catholic University and co-founder of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI).

Roca was appointed as a permanent representative to the United Nations during the first semester of 1982.{{cite web |url=http://enaun.mrecic.gov.ar/es/content/anteriores-representantes-permanentes |title=Anteriores Representantes Permanentes|trans-title=Previous Permanent Representatives |language=es|publisher=United Nations}} He was appointed to the position by his friend, the then Foreign Minister Nicanor Costa Méndez. He took office a few days before the start of the Falklands War.[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/05/27/Eduardo-Roca-Argentine-ambassador-to-the-United-Nations-returned/3682391320000/ Eduardo Roca, Argentine ambassador to the United Nations, returned to Buenos Aires.] United Press International, 27 de mayo de 1982.

On 1 April 1982, Session 2345.ª was held at the Security Council in response to the suspicion of an Argentine military intervention in the Falklands/Malvinas Islands. The president of the Council, Gérard Kamanda wa Kamanda (from Zaire), invited Roca to participate. There he denounced what he believed to be an aggression on the part of the British, citing the incident that occurred in South Georgia (or San Pedro Island) the previous month. He claimed the Argentine sovereignty of those islands and denounced the obstructionist attitude of the United Kingdom for the diplomatic resolution of the sovereignty of the South Atlantic islands.Diario de sesiones de la 2345.ª Sesión del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas. 1 de abril de 1982. S/PV.2345

The next day, following the success of Operation Rosario (which started the war), Roca was again invited to the session by the president of the Council. There he accused the United Kingdom of evading the question of the sovereignty of the islands, as well as the decision of the Argentine government to not accept the facts formulated by the British representative during this session and the previous one and undertaking the "recovery" of the disputed islands in the Southern Atlantic.Diario de sesiones de la 2345.ª Sesión del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas. 1 de abril de 1982. S/PV.2345

He accused the United Kingdom of aggression and was quoted as saying: "What I must inform the Council is that today the Argentine Government has declared the recovery of their national sovereignty of the territories of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich, in an act that responds to a just Argentine demand and also in response to legitimate defense against the recent acts of aggression provoked by the United Kingdom".Diario de sesiones de la 2346.ª Sesión del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas. 2 de abril de 1982. S/PV.2346

As the conflict developed, then Secretary General of the United Nations Javier Pérez de Cuéllar summoned Roca together with British Ambassador Anthony Parsons to try to mediate. On 5 May 1982, Roca condemned the United States for its support of the United Kingdom and accepted the intervention of the UN as mediator.{{cite web |last1=Corrientes |first1=Cescen |title=Malvinas / Cronología de la Guerra |url=http://www.cescem.org.ar/malvinas/cronologia.html |website=Cescem Corrientes |access-date=10 June 2019}} On the other hand, he obtained a statement from the coordination bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement in favor of the Argentine claim.{{cite web |last1=Sosa |first1=Alberto J |title=ARGENTINA EN EL MOVIMIENTO DE NO ALINEADOS |url=http://www.amersur.org/PolInt/ARGENTINA-EN-EL-MOVIMIENTO-DE-NO-ALINEADOS-corregido.pdf |website=AmerSur Asociación Civil |access-date=10 June 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Roca married Magdalena Figueroa in 1947; the couple had three sons and three daughters.

Roca died in Buenos Aires on 15 May 2019, aged 97.{{cite web |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/eduardo-roca-murio-el-embajador-argentino-ante-la-onu-durante-malvinas-nid2248722 |title=Eduardo Roca: murió el embajador argentino ante la ONU durante Malvinas|language=es|trans-title=Eduardo Roca: The Argentine ambassador to the UN during the Malvinas has died|date=17 May 2019|access-date=3 June 2019|work=La Nación}}

• {{cite book |last=Lanús |first=Juan Archibaldo |year=1984 |title=De Chapultepec al Beagle. Política Exterior Argentina 1945–1980 |location=Buenos Aires |publisher=Emecé |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1RGAAAAMAAJ |isbn=950-04-0339-0}}
• {{cite book |last=Rapoport |first=Mario |date= 1997 |title=El laberinto argentino: política internacional en un mundo conflictivo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-98AAAAMAAJ|publisher=EUDEBA, 1997 |isbn=9789502306643}}
• {{cite book |last=Argentine |first=Republic Chancellor |date= 1982 |title=Boletín oficial de la República Argentina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=|publisher=Cancillería Argentina, 1982}}
• {{cite book |last1=Cisneros |first1=Andrés |last4=Corbacho |first4=Alejandro |last2=Corigliano |first2=Francisco |last3=Escudè |first3=Carlos |date= 2000 |title=Las relaciones políticas, 1966–1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfR6AAAAMAAJ&q=Andr%C3%A9s+Cisneros+Las+relaciones+pol%C3%ADticas,+1966+-+1989|publisher=Nuevohacer, Grupo Ed. Latinoamericano, 2000|isbn=9789506946128}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20171104164737/http://www.archivoprisma.com.ar/registro/malvinas-segun-la-television-hispana-de-estados-unidos-1982/ Las Malvinas, ¿invasión o recuperación? 15/04/1982]. Archivo de Radio y Televisión Argentina Sociedad del Estado. Incluye una nota al Embajador Roca.
• [http://www.radarmalvinas.com.ar/doc%20UN/09%20may11%20a%2020%20cpl%20ct.pdf Documentos del Consejo de Seguridad de ONU en mayo de 1982], incluyendo notas de Roca presentadas al entonces presidente del Consejo, Ling Qing.

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Category:1921 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:Diplomats from Buenos Aires

Category:University of Buenos Aires alumni

Category:20th-century Argentine lawyers

Category:Ambassadors of Argentina to the United States

Category:Permanent representatives of Argentina to the Organization of American States

Category:Permanent representatives of Argentina to the United Nations

Category:Argentine people of the Falklands War

Category:Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina