The United Nations general assembly has overwhelmingly backed a motion condemning Britain’s occupation of the remote Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The 116-6 vote left the UK diplomatically isolated and was also a measure of severely diminished US clout on the world stage. Washington had campaigned vigorously at the UN and directly in talks with national capitals around the world in defence of the UK’s continued control of the archipelago, where there is a US military base at Diego Garcia.

The vote was in support of a motion setting a six-month deadline for Britain to withdraw from the Chagos island chain and for the islands to be reunified with neighbouring Mauritius. It endorsed an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February, calling on the UK to relinquish its hold on the territory in order to complete the process of decolonisation.

The US, Hungary, Israel, Australia and the Maldives backed the UK in the vote and 56 countries abstained, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland and Romania. Other European allies including Austria, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland voted for the UK to relinquish sovereignty.

The scale of the defeat for the UK and US came as a surprise even to Mauritius, in view of the concerted campaign pursued by London and Washington.

“Even we didn’t expect support for the UK to go into single figures,” Jagdish Koonjul, the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, told the Guardian. “More importantly, this has happened despite the huge, huge, pressure on national capitals and at the UN.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chagos Islanders protest outside the high court, London in June 2017. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA

British diplomats said the non-binding resolution would have little practical impact. But it has taken a political toll, draining support for the UK in the general assembly and focusing dissatisfaction over its permanent seat on the UN security council. It lost its seat on the ICJ two years ago. Mauritius now intends to challenge UK membership of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

The UK retained possession of the Chagos archipelago after Mauritius gained independence in 1968, effectively paying Mauritius more than £4m for the islands.

The islands, known by the Foreign Office as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), include Diego Garcia, used by US bombers on long-range missions and, in the past, for rendition flights carrying terrorism suspects.

The UK and US lobbied intensely at the UN to try to avoid support for Britain dropping to single figures among the UN’s 193 member states. The Mauritian prime minister, Pravind Jugnauth, was present for the debate.

Karen Pierce, the UK’s permanent representative at the UN, said the large number of abstentions reflected many countries’ unease about the precedent set by the motion.

In London, the Foreign Office stressed the importance of the partnership with the US over the Diego Garcia military base. “The joint UK-US defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe from terrorism, organised crime and piracy,” a spokeswoman said. “As the US government has made clear, the status of BIOT as a UK territory is essential to the value of the joint facility and our shared interests – an arrangement that cannot be replicated.”

The spokeswoman added: “We remain disappointed that this matter was referred to the international court of justice and the UN general assembly. The basic principle that the ICJ should not consider bilateral sovereignty disputes without the consent of both states concerned has been circumvented and this could have wide-reaching implications for all UN member states.”

Timeline Chagos Islands Show Hide

France establishes colony Diego Garcia is made home to a French colony using slave labour on plantations Britain takes control Mauritius and the Chagos Islands are ceded to Britain at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in the Treaty of Paris Becomes part of British Indian Ocean Territory Before independence is granted to Mauritius, the UK separates the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius, creating British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Military deal with US Britain allows the US to use the largest island, Diego Garcia, as a military base in exchange for a discount on the purchase of Polaris missiles. Expulsions begin Forced expulsion of around 1,500 Chagossians begin as access to food supplies is restricted. Most are moved to Mauritius or the Seychelles. Compensation is offered Chagossian refugees in Mauritius were paid compensation, and more offers followed contingent on them signing agreements not to return to their homes. Resettlement to the UK British passports are granted to some Chagossians. Many move from Mauritius to Crawley. A UK government feasibility study into resettlement concludes it would be expensive and difficult. Wikileaks revelations A Marine Protected Area is established around the Chagos Islands. Documents published by Wikileaks show a UK diplomat saying that “establishing a marine park would, in effect, put paid to resettlement claims of the archipelago’s former residents”. Government actions ruled illegal International Court of Justice rules that the agreement to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius in 1965 prior to decolonisation was unlawful. UN defeat for the UK The United Nations general assembly overwhelmingly backs a motion condemning Britain’s occupation of the islands. The vote, which left the UK diplomatically isolated, set a six-month deadline for the UK to withdraw from the archipelago and for it to be reunified with neighbouring Mauritius.

During the debate the Maldives representative said her country would not support the motion because of the “serious implications for the security of the Indian Ocean region”.

The Cypriot representative said his country supported the motion, pointing out that removal of “parcels of land” in the process of decolonisation usually involved an element of coercion.

The Foreign Office is eager to maintain good relations with Mauritius, a fellow Commonwealth member, despite the dispute. The UK views BIOT’s defence and security role as vital. The islands are close to some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.



Diego Garcia is a pivotal location for monitoring and tackling drugs trafficking, piracy and crime in the Indian Ocean and has been used as a base for supporting humanitarian responses, such as after the 2004 tsunami.

The UK government publicly acknowledged in 2008 that Diego Garcia had twice been used for US rendition flights, both in 2002. It has received assurances that the base will not be used for rendition in the future.

The UK recently set aside £40m for exiled Chagossians who live mainly in the UK, Seychelles and Mauritius. Relatively little has been spent so far because programmes are being developed. Some money has been used to pay for five group heritage visits, in which 76 exiled Chagossians have been allowed back to visit ancestral graves and spend up to a week on the archipelago.

Before the result, the UK government was resigned to many countries voting against it on the totemic issue of decolonisation. Diplomats do not believe that Brexit, which is distancing the UK from its normal European allies, affected the outcome.

In 2017, 15 countries including Britain and the US voted to oppose a request for the ICJ ruling.