Mauritius is threatening to take the UK to the international court of justice in a dispute over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.



In the wake of the Foreign Office’s announcement this week that none of the Chagossians expelled in the 1960s to make way for military bases would be allowed to return to live on the Indian Ocean archipelago, Mauritius, which claims the territory, has accused Britain of “outrageously” undermining human rights.

The prime minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, criticised the UK government’s refusal to let the Chagossian community return to the island, which he said “always formed and continues to form an integral part of the territory of Mauritius”.

He added: “In view of the purported unilateral actions of the UK, Mauritius would be fully justified in taking forward the completion of the process of decolonisation, which is now on the agenda of the current session of the UN general assembly, with a view to putting the matter before the international court of justice.”

A United Nations vote in favour of referring the case to the court in The Hague would have to be obtained. The Mauritian government said the UK’s “unilateral” decision to ban the right of return and to renew the lease for the US base on Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos Islands, for another 20 years breached international law.

Mauritius said the UK had “acted in blatant breach of the letter and spirit” of a judgment under the UN convention on the law of the sea last year.



“The denial of the right of Mauritians in general, and those of Chagossian origin in particular, to settle in the Chagos archipelago is a manifest breach of international law and outrageously flouts their human rights,” the statement said.

Mauritius argues that the Chagos Islands were illegally stolen from it before they were established as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The Foreign Office in London said: “We disagree with Mauritius’ claim that the Chagos archipelago, which the UK administers as the British Indian Ocean Territory, is part of Mauritius.

“Whilst we do not recognise the Republic of Mauritius’ claim to sovereignty of the archipelago, the UK has repeatedly undertaken to cede it to Mauritius when no longer required for defence purposes, and we maintain that commitment. These defence purposes contribute significantly towards global security. Diego Garcia is a joint UK-US facility that is used by many international partners in countering terrorism and countering piracy.

“The UK is disappointed that Mauritius is seeking a request by the UN general assembly to the international court of justice for an advisory opinion on sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The UK believes this is an inappropriate use of the ICJ mechanism and sets an unwelcome precedent for other bilateral disputes.”