Britain suffers humiliating defeat at UN over Chagos sovereignty

BRITAIN suffered a diplomatic defeat yesterday as the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to hand the disputed Chagos islands back to Mauritius.

The UN General Assembly voted by 116 to six, with 56 nations abstaining, in favour of a resolution that calls on the UK to relinquish sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The vote comes three months after the International Court of Justice said Britain should relinquish sovereignty “as rapidly as possible”.

The vote does not carry the same weight as a Security Council resolution and Britain is unlikely to face any coercive measures if it flouts it. But it will be seen as a major moral victory for Mauritius in its ongoing campaign to win back the islands.

In 1965, the UK paid the government of Mauritius, then a British territory, £3 million for the islands.

About 2,000 people were evicted from the Chagos in the Sixties and Seventies so the US could build an airbase on Diego Garcia, the largest atoll.

They and their descendants have been campaigning to return ever since.

Mauritius, which argues the 1965 sale was made under duress, is backed by many African nations.

The UK maintains it will give up sovereignty when the islands are no longer needed for security and defence.

But the base’s location, and increasing competition with China in the region, means it is likely to become more, rather than less, significant.

Diego Garcia became an important US base in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, acting as a launch pad for longrange bombers. In 2008, it emerged the US had used it for secret renditions of prisoners. British officials insist they have had annual assurances since then that it is not used for such purposes.

The UK has apologised several times for the “shameful” way the evictions were carried out. But it has refused to allow Chagosians to return.