The International Court of Justice announced on February 25, that by 13 votes to 1 is of the opinion that the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence in 1968, following the separation of the Chagos Archipelago. Thus, the population was wrongfully forced to leave in the 1970s.
Specifically, the Court ruled that all Member States are under an obligation to co-operate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonization of Mauritius.
Britain split the archipelago off from its colonial island territory of Mauritius in 1965, three years before granting independence to Mauritius – minus the islands.
In the beginning of 1970s, Britain forced out almost 2.000 residents to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for the base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, which it had leased to the United States.
Following, Presiding Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf supported the Court’s decision that Britain was under obligation to bring to an end the administration of Chagos Islands as rapidly as possible.
In light of the Court’s decision, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth commented in his summary that
It was a historic moment for Mauritius and all its people, including the Chagossians who were unconscionably removed from their homeland and prevented from returning for the last half century.
Moreover, Yusuf continued that the court resulting to the fact that the decolonization of Mauritius was not conducted in a way consistent with the right of peoples to self-determination, it follows that the United Kingdom’s continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act entailing the international responsibility of that State.
In the meantime, Mauritius supported that it was forced to give up the Archipelago, to win its independence from Britain. On the contrary, Britain addressed that Mauritius gave the islands willingly.
Diego Garcia has played an important role in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan since 1991, acting as a launch pad for U.S. long-range bombers. The United States and Britain both voted against the U.N. resolution seeking the court’s opinion.
