UK must end ‘unlawful’ control the of Chagos Islands – UN
The United Kingdom must end its administration of the Chagos Islands “as rapidly as possible”, the United Nations’ highest court has said.
Britain forcibly evicted people from the Chagos Archipelago, a sovereignty in the Indian Ocean disputed by the UK and Mauritius, in the 1960 sand 1970s so the United States could build a military base.
Judge sat the International Court of Justice in The Hague said yesterday that the UK’S detachment of the islands and their incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory was “unlawful”.
The UK’S ongoing administration is a“wrongful act”, according to an advisor y opinion given by the court, which is not binding.
The ICJ said: “The court finds that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence and that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Cha gos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.”
The UK agreed a package including £3 million with Mauritius for the detachment of the archipelago in 1965. Chagossians were forcibly removed between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military facility.
Mauritius, which gained independence in 1968, maintains the islands are its own and Chagossians have also brought cases in British courts for the right to return. The ICJ said the opinion the UK should ends its administration was given with a majority of 13 votes to one.
About 2,000 people were evicted, with many resettling in Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The UK has said the islands will be returned to Mauritius when the need for military facilities ends.