African Union asks UK to end colonial rule and return Chagos Islands

African Union asks UK to end colonial rule and return Chagos Islands where the latter continues occupation.

Although UN deadline for UK (Britain) to do so expired, London refused to give up control of the overseas territory.

African Union asks UK

However, The African Union called it violation of international law and urged Britain to withdraw from the Chagos Islands.

UN votes

In May, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a motion condemning Britain’s occupation of the Chagos islands, a remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It also includes the strategic US airbase of Diego Garcia. The AU demanded it reunification with Mauritius.

The UN vote set a six-month deadline for UK withdrawal which expired on Nov. 22.

British Colonialism

Britain separated the Chagos Islands from the rest of its Indian Ocean colony three years before Mauritius was granted independence.

The government of Mauritius claims the move violated UN Resolution 1514, passed in 1960, which prevented colonizers from splitting up the colonies before giving them independence.

US airbase

The British government deported most of the 1,500 islanders from Chagos. And then it leased the largest island of the archipelago, Diego Garcia, to the United States for a strategic airbase.

AU stance

The African Union has urged Britain to comply with the UN resolution and end its “continued colonial administration” there.

Britain does not recognize Mauritius’ sovereignty claim.

“The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement on Nov. 5.

94 countries voted against UK

In 2017, some 94 countries supported a Mauritian-backed resolution in the UN General Assembly to seek an opinion from the international court of justice (ICJ) on the legal status of the archipelago.

ICJ also ruled against Britiain

An advisory opinion by ICJ, at The Hague, found the islands had been illegally severed from Mauritius in the 1960s.

Furthermore, ICJ president Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf urged the UK and other member states to complete the decolonization of Mauritius.

However, the UK regards neither the ICJ judgment nor the UN motion as binding.

African protest

Meanwhile, around 200 protesters gathered outside the British High Commission in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius Friday.

They demanded Britain cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

“This peaceful demonstration is intended to show the discontent of Mauritians at Britain’s refusal to respect the United Nations resolution… giving her six months to end the illegal occupation of Chagos,” said Olivier Bancoult.

Born in one of the islands of the archipelago he leads the Chagossian Refugee Group.

Moreover, the protesters were considering options for filing a case against Britain at the International Criminal Court.

“We have to look at different avenues given that the UK is not complying with the decision of the United Nations,” Bancoult said.

Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, now remains a strategically important US military base. American bombers used it on long-range missions.

In 2016, Britain renewed a lease agreement with the United States for the use of Diego Garcia until 2036.

Mauritius assurance to US failed

Mauritius Prime Minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, said in parliament on Thursday that Mauritius will continue to allow the United States to operate the base even if it resumed control over the islands.

“Mauritius has stated on various occasions that it fully recognizes the importance of the military base in Diego Garcia and will take no action that will impede its continued operation,” he said.