HMGOG notes UK Treaty with Mauritius: No Possible Read Across from Chagos Islands to Gibraltar on Sovereignty - 636/2024

HMGOG notes the announcement that the UK and Mauritius have reached an agreement over the future of the Chagos Archipelago.

The Government awaits sight of the details of the treaty, but today's announcement suggests that an amicable resolution has been reached that allows for the completion of Mauritius' decolonisation, in line with the findings of the International Court of Justice in its 2019 decision, while safeguarding the UK's military and strategic interests in the Indian Ocean.

Importantly, the agreement will also provide for the return to the Archipelago of the Chagossians, who were expelled from their homes over 50 years ago to make way for the military base on Diego Garcia.

The wrongs suffered by the Chagossians were - by the UK's own admission - shameful, and reminiscent of the worst types of colonialism and led to various legal actions in the UK Courts in which the Chagossians made claims against the United Kingdom government.

The new agreement should, therefore, provide a measure of justice for the Chagossians, and His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar trust that both the UK and Mauritius will continue to prioritise the interests of this displaced and disenfranchised population.

The situations in BIOT and Gibraltar are completely different.

When Mauritius decolonised in the 1960s, the UK held on to part of Mauritius' territory - the Chagos Archipelago - and created BIOT.

The ICJ decided in 2019 that this amounted to an unlawful interference with Mauritius' right to self-determination and territorial integrity.

The fact that the UK and Mauritius have now agreed for a peaceful handover of sovereignty draws a line under this unhappy episode in the history of decolonisation, and underscores the importance of self-determination in giving effect to the decolonisation process - something HMGOG welcomes.

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: "The key thing for people to note is how different the case of the Chagos Islands is from the case of the inalienable right of the People of Gibraltar to decide our future and the future of our land, Gibraltar.

"The case of Chagos has been the subject of decisions by the International Court and the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea.

"The United Kingdom challenged Spain to take matters to the ICJ and Spain refused. If she took up the case, she would lose.

"Gibraltar is an inhabited territory, the population of which has rights which cannot be ignored in any circumstances and which entirely trump any other purported claims to our land and surrounding seas, as recognised under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The United Kingdom has made clear that it will not enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes and also reaffirms at the United Nations and elsewhere that it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.

"Additionally, the new Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon David Lammy MP, has made clear that there will not be negotiations about Gibraltar without the Chief Minister of Gibraltar present.

"That is hugely important and demonstrates the United Kingdom's cast iron commitment to the right of self-determination of the People of Gibraltar.

"The Chagossians have suffered greatly in being excluded from their islands for half a century and this treaty may finally lead to them being able to go back to the islands."

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