Chagossians Support UK-Mauritius Agreement for the Chagos Islands but Demand Right to Return to Diego Garcia, Involvement in Final Treaty Negotiations, and Full Respect for International Law

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Chagossians Support UK-Mauritius Agreement for the Chagos Islands but Insist on Right to Return to Diego Garcia, Involvement in Final Treaty Negotiations, and Full Respect for International Law
 
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Louis Olivier Bancoult, President, Chagos Refugees Group, (+230) 5751-7506, [email protected]


Port Louis, Mauritius—October 14, the group representing the largest number of exiled Chagossians publicly affirmed its support for the recent agreement of the governments of the United Kingdom and Mauritius on sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago—including the United States military base on Diego Garcia—while insisting on Chagossians’ right to return to Diego Garcia and Chagossians’ full involvement in negotiations to finalize the agreement.
 
More than 300 Chagossians unanimously declared their deep concern that the agreement disregards the full human rights of Chagossians from Diego Garcia, where most trace their ancestry.
 
“We firmly request that all native Chagossians from Diego Garcia and their heirs be granted the right to freely visit and live on Diego Garcia, as is their natural right, given that foreign workers currently have this privilege,” Chagossians said in an Oct. 13 letter to the British High Commissioner in Mauritius, Charlotte Pierre.
 
The letter was sent by Olivier Bancoult, Chagos Refugees Group president, declaring the unanimous decision of Chagossians at the group’s Oct. 13 Special Annual General Meeting.
 
“It is imperative that Chagossians be actively involved in every step of the negotiation process” as the UK and Mauritius finalize a treaty “to ensure that Chagossians’ rights and interests are fully safeguarded,” the letter continues.
 
Representing the unified voice of Chagossians in Mauritius, the letter also emphasized the need to:
 
§  Expedite resettlement and promised UK financial support to ensure elderly Chagossians born in Chagos receive justice in their final years of life.
 
§  Provide a comprehensive support package for Chagossians born in Chagos and their descendants, including a lifetime pension for those born in Chagos.
 
§  Create a local governance structure prioritizing Chagossian self-determination to ensure Chagossians shape the future of Chagos, including protecting its environment, in collaboration with the Mauritian government.
 
§  Dialogue with Chagossians worldwide to ensure the alignment of Chagossians’ interests in implementing the Chagos agreement.
 
The Chagossian declaration follows the UK and Mauritian governments’ Oct. 3 announcement recognizing Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos islands while permitting the UK to exercise sovereignty on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years, to include the continued operation of the major US military base, in exchange for UK financial and other support.

The agreement, which must be formalized in a treaty, said Chagossians would be allowed to resettle on all their islands except for Diego Garcia. If enacted, this would continue more than half a century during which Chagossians have been barred from Diego Garcia following their expulsion by the US and UK governments, between 1968 and 1973, as part of the creation of the US base on Diego Garcia.   
 
Chagos Refugees Group President Olivier Bancoult expressed Chagossians’ commitment to “collaborating in pursuit of a just and equitable resolution for all Chagossians, one that fully respects all the obligations of international law.”
 
The full text of the Chagos Refugees Group letter is here.


MEDIA CONTACTS
 
Louis Olivier Bancoult                                                        
President, Chagos Refugees Group                                                               
(+230) 5751-7506
[email protected]       
 
 
Sabrina Jean
Chair, Chagos Refugees Group UK
(+44) 7832-113931
[email protected]