evidence: The history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers discovered the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult. Due to these conditions, human activity in the islands has largely consisted of sealing, whaling, and scientific surveys and research, interrupted by World War II and the Falklands War. [...] The first official announcement of an Argentine claim of South Georgia was made in 1927 at the International Postal Bureau in Bern. The first definitive Argentine claim of sovereignty over the South Sandwich Islands was made in 1938, when the President of Argentina ratified the 1934 Cairo Postal Convention. Since then, Argentina has maintained her claims of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands but repeatedly (in 1947, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955) refused to have them resolved by the International Court of Justice or by an independent arbitral tribunal. [...] Since the Falklands War, the United Kingdom maintained a small garrison of Royal Engineers on South Georgia until March 2001,[citation needed] when the island reverted to civilian rule. However, Argentina continues to claim South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.