The United Nations has passed a resolution demanding the United Kingdom ends its administration of the Chagos Islands.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution based on findings by the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Britain must hand back control of the archipelago to Mauritius within six months.

Britain forcibly evicted people from the islands, a sovereignty in the Indian Ocean disputed by the UK and Mauritius, in the 1960s and 1970s so the United States could build a military base.

On Wednesday, the UN Assembly backed by 116 votes to six a verdict by the ICJ that the UK’s detachment of the islands and their incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory was “unlawful”.

As well as the UK, the resolution was opposed by the United States, Australia, Hungary, Israel and the Maldives.

There were 56 abstentions, including France and Germany, from the vote, which is not legally binding but places huge diplomatic pressure on the UK.

A UN communique said: “Since the decolonisation of Mauritius was not conducted in a manner consistent with the right to self-determination, the Assembly affirmed, the continued administration of the Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act.

“It urged the United Kingdom to co-operate with Mauritius to facilitate the resettlement of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, in the Chagos Archipelago and to pose no impediment to such efforts.”

The Foreign Office said 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 spokesman said: “We have however made a longstanding commitment since 1965 to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.”

On Wednesday, Karen Pierce, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, said the issue had not been for the ICJ as it was currently a “bilateral sovereignty dispute”.

She also said the resolution would “set an unwelcome precedent” over sovereignty disputes “that should be of concern to member states”.

Dame Karen said: “The United Kingdom regrets that the General Assembly has today voted to adopt this resolution.

“The United Kingdom fully recognises the importance of the issue of decolonisation and the UN’s role in that. The United Kingdom … sincerely regrets the manner in which Chagossians were removed from British Indian Ocean territory in the 1960s and the 1970s and we are determined to improve their lives where they have resettled.”

The UK agreed a package including £3 million with Mauritius for the detachment of the archipelago in 1965.

Chagossians were forcibly removed between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military facility on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group.

Mauritius, which gained independence in 1968, maintains that the islands are its own and Chagossians have also brought cases in British courts for the right to return. </s> UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly has approved a resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on a dispute between Mauritius and the United Kingdom over the Chagos Islands. Those include Diego Garcia, where the United States has a major military base.

The resolution, strongly backed by African and nonaligned nations, was adopted Thursday by a vote of 94-15 with 65 abstentions.

Mauritius' Defense Minister Anerood Jugnauth told the assembly that Britain unlawfully took the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, three years before the island nation gained independence. He criticized Mauritius' "dismemberment."

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft strongly opposed the resolution, insisting the United Kingdom has sovereignty and reiterating that the Chagos Islands will be returned to Mauritius once they are no longer required for military purposes. </s> The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to demand that Britain end its "colonial administration" of the Chagos Islands, which include the U.S. air base on Diego Garcia, and return them to Mauritius within six months. The 193-member world body approved a resolution supporting an advisory opinion in February by the International Court of Justice that the Indian Ocean island chain be given back to Mauritius. The vote was 116-6 in favor, with 56 abstentions. The General Assembly resolution, like the court's ruling, is not legally binding but it does carry weight since the ruling came from the U.N.'s highest court and the assembly vote reflects world opinion.

The court said in its opinion that Britain had unlawfully carved up Mauritius, which the Chagos Archipelago was a part of, in 1965 when Mauritius was a British colony. It said that "the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible."

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said the court established the right of the people of Mauritius to self-determination which the U.K. violated "by excising the Chagos Archipelago" without their consent. He said all nations, including the United Kingdom, are obligated to comply with international law. Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build the air base on Diego Garcia. Many resettled in the U.K. and have fought in British courts to return to the islands. </s> • UN asks Britain to unconditionally withdraw its colonisation of Chagos Islands.
• The General Assembly affirms that doing so — in accordance with the advisory opinion — would enable Mauritius to complete the decolonisation of its territory as soon as possible.
• UK government says it will only be handed over the islands to Mauritius when it is no longer needed.

The United Nations has asked Britain to unconditionally withdraw its colonisation of Chagos Islands and return it to Mauritius as soon as possible.

At its 73rd session and 84th meeting on Wednesday, the General Assembly of the UN adopted a resolution of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legal consequences of separating the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

By a recorded vote of 116 in favour to 6 against (Australia, Hungary, Israel, Maldives, United Kingdom, United States), with 56 abstentions, the Assembly affirmed that doing so — in accordance with the advisory opinion — would enable Mauritius to complete the decolonisation of its territory as soon as possible.

ALSO READ: Opinion: The UK’s attitude over Mauritius’s Chagos Islands is sickening to the core and it is high time African countries face up to this colonial hangover

The world body affirmed the decolonisation of Mauritius by the UK was not conducted in a manner consistent with the right of self-determination.

Last February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), United Nations’ highest court ruled that continued British occupation of the remote Indian Ocean archipelago is illegal and ordered the UK to hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius “as rapidly as possible”.

Delivering judgement, the president of the ICJ, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said the detachment of the Chagos archipelago in 1965 from Mauritius had not been based on a “free and genuine expression of the people concerned”.

“This continued administration constitutes a wrongful act,” he had said.

The British government purchased the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 for £3 million to create British Indian Ocean Territory but the African nation claimed that it was forcefully ceded in exchange for independence.

Between 1967 and 1973, Britain evicted the islands' entire population to make way for a joint military base with the US, which is still in place on Diego Garcia.

The UK government has also said it will only be handed over control of the islands to Mauritius when they were no longer needed for defence purposes. </s> Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The United Nations' highest court ruled Monday that Britain's claim of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, in a remote portion of the Indian Ocean, is illegal.

The International Court of Justice said in its decision that initial British efforts to separate the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 violated international law and was not based on a "free and genuine expression of the people concerned."

Mauritius claimed it was forced to give up the islands in exchange for independence from Britain, which it gained in 1968.

"Decolonization of Mauritius not conducted in a manner consistent with the right of peoples to self-determination -- United Kingdom's continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act entailing the international responsibility of that state," the court said.

"Continuing character of the unlawful act, United Kingdom (is) under an obligation to bring an end to its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. Modalities for completing the decolonization of Mauritius to be determined by the General Assembly."

The British government removed the entire population of the islands before allowing the United States to build a strategically important military base on Diego Garcia, one of the chain's larger atolls.

Monday's ruling allows the issue to be referred to the United Nations general assembly for debate. Britain had argued the ICJ did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

"This is a historic moment for Mauritius and all its people, including the Chagossians who were unconscionably removed from their homeland and prevented from returning for the last half-century," Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said.

"Our territorial integrity will now be made complete, and when that occurs, the Chagossians and their descendants will finally be able to return home." </s> (CNN) The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the UK's continued occupation of the Chagos Islands -- a humiliating defeat for London on its continued colonial legacy.

The Indian Ocean islands, which are home to US military base Diego Garcia , were separated from the former British territory of Mauritius during decolonization in 1968. On Wednesday, UN member states voted 116-6 for a non-binding resolution endorsing a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that separation was illegal and calling for the UK to return the islands to Mauritius within six months.

Only Australia, Hungary, Israel, the Maldives and the US voted in support of the UK.

"The advisory opinion is clear and unambiguous," Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said. "It is decisive."

Jugnauth said that decolonization of the former British Empire had not been completed, nor would it be until the Chagos Islands were returned to their original owners. "This is a sacrosanct principle of the United Nations," he added.

Karen Pierce, the UK's representative to the UN, said London "is not in doubt about our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory," which includes the Chagos Islands.

She said Mauritius had recognized British control over the Chagos archipelago in the past, something the current government has acknowledged but argues was done under "duress."

The entire Chagos Islands population was expelled and prevented from returning as part of the separation process, a situation the UK has since said "was shameful and wrong."

In the 1980s, the UK paid about $5.2 million to more than 1,300 evicted islanders on the condition they sign or place a thumbprint on a form renouncing their right to return to the archipelago.

"The detachment (or excision) of the Chagos Archipelago was carried out without any regard to the will of the people of Mauritius, including those who lived in the Chagos Archipelago," Mauritius said in a submission to the ICJ.

"The administering power had already decided that the territory would be excised and turned into a new colony, in order to allow one of its allies to build a military base on the island of Diego Garcia."

While the UN will not force the UK to give up the Chagos Islands, pressure is on for London to find a way to transition control to Mauritius. That may be compounded if a deal is worked out to maintain the US base under Mauritian rule.

Stephen Robert Allen, who specializes in international law relating to the Chagos Islands, told CNN ahead of the UN debate that "it will be a very significant thing if the UK decided to ignore such a ruling."

"As the UK forges a path post Brexit these political matters are going to be significant. Adhering to the international rule of law is going to be even more important than it would have been otherwise," he said.

Home to more than 1,000 US troops and staff, it has been used by the US Navy, US Air Force and even NASA. Diego Garcia has helped to launch two invasions of Iraq, served as a vital landing spot for bombers flying missions across Asia, including over the South China Sea, and has been linked to US rendition efforts.

According to the US Navy, Diego Garcia was used to guide tactical aircraft supporting military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and featured remote satellite tracking stations, an Air Force Space Command and Pacific Air Force support and logistics teams.

Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, said the base was "very important to US operations in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean" and its loss could have a major impact, forcing the US "to change logistics support" in the region.

"It wouldn't weaken (US military strength) necessarily, but logistics are everything," he added. </s> UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to demand that Britain end its "colonial administration" of the Chagos Islands, which include the U.S. air base on Diego Garcia, and return them to Mauritius within six months.

The 193-member world body approved a resolution supporting an advisory opinion in February by the International Court of Justice that the Indian Ocean island chain be given back to Mauritius. The vote was 116-6 in favor, with 56 abstentions.

The General Assembly resolution, like the court's ruling, is not legally binding but it does carry weight since the ruling came from the U.N.'s highest court and the assembly vote reflects world opinion.

The court said in its opinion that Britain had unlawfully carved up Mauritius, which the Chagos Archipelago was a part of, in 1965 when Mauritius was a British colony. It said that "the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible."

Britain disputes that the islands, which it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory, were ever a colony.

Britain's U.N. ambassador, Karen Pierce, told the assembly: "British Indian Ocean Territory has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over it and we do not recognize their claim."

Pierce expressed disappointment at the General Assembly vote, which saw only the U.S., Australia, Hungary, Israel and the Maldives support Britain.

But she said the islands remain under British sovereignty, "and it is not in our plan to give the islands to Mauritius."

Pierce said the United Kingdom stands by the 1965 agreement with the Mauritian Council of Ministers to detach the British Indian Ocean Territory in exchange for fishing rights and other benefits and a commitment "to cede the territory when it is no longer needed for defense purposes."

She stressed the importance of the U.S. and U.K defense facility on Diego Garcia to the safety and security of allies and friends, including Mauritius, in the region and beyond in the current "dangerous and uncertain" world.

"It is vital to efforts to combat conflict, terrorism, drugs, crime and piracy," Pierce said.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Juqnauth told the assembly the court's landmark opinion "confirms the longstanding position of Mauritius and Africa that the decolonization of Mauritius ... will not be completed until Mauritius is able to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago."

He said Mauritius "is extremely disappointed" in the position of the British government, noting that opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn "has made clear his respect and support for the court's conclusions."

Jugnauth said the 1965 agreement on the Chagos Archipelago "was carried out under duress."

The prime minister said Mauritius has made public commitments at the General Assembly and at the International Court of Justice "that it is prepared to enter into a long-term arrangement with the U.S., or with the U.K. and the U.S., which would permit the unhindered operation of the defense facility in accordance with international law."

Jugnauth said the court established the right of the people of Mauritius to self-determination which the U.K. violated "by excising the Chagos Archipelago" without their consent. He said all nations, including the United Kingdom, are obligated to comply with international law.

Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build the air base on Diego Garcia. Many resettled in the U.K. and have fought in British courts to return to the islands.

Jugnauth said their forcible eviction "remains a very dark episode of human history akin to a crime against humanity." But he said the court's advisory opinion gave "these Mauritian nationals who are now mostly in their 70s and 80s "a glimmer of hope."

Jugnauth said the court left it to the General Assembly to decide how rapidly Britain should hand over the islands and the African group, which drafted the resolution, decided on six months.

"This is more than sufficient time to smoothly bring an end to an administration that consists of no more than a handful of personnel," he said. </s> Britain evicted about 2,000 people so the US military could build the air base on Diego Garcia

Britain should end its "colonial administration" of the Chagos Islands and return them to Mauritius within six months, the UN has demanded.

The 193-member world body approved a resolution supporting a finding by the International Court of Justice that the Indian Ocean island chain be given back to Mauritius.

The General Assembly resolution, like the court's ruling, is not legally binding but it does carry weight as it came from the UN's highest court, and the vote - 116-6 with 56 abstentions - reflects world opinion.

The court said in its opinion Britain had unlawfully carved up Mauritius, which the Chagos Archipelago was a part of, in 1965 when Mauritius was a British colony.

It said: "The United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible."

Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s so the US military could build its air base on Diego Garcia.

Many resettled in the UK and have fought in British courts to return to the islands.

Britain's UN ambassador, Karen Pierce, told the assembly: "British Indian Ocean Territory has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over it and we do not recognise their claim."

She added that the government stands by the 1965 agreement with the Mauritian Council of Ministers to detach the British Indian Ocean Territory in exchange for fishing rights and other benefits and a commitment "to cede the territory when it is no longer needed for defence purposes".

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth told the assembly his country "is extremely disappointed" in the position of the British government.

Mr Jugnauth said the 1965 agreement on the Chagos Archipelago "was carried out under duress" and labelled the forcible eviction of islanders as "a very dark episode of human history akin to a crime against humanity". </s> Britain could lose sovereignty over a Mauritian island used as a defence base after EU countries refused to support the UK in a UN vote over the dispute.

The General Assembly voted Tuesday to seek an opinion from the top UN court on Mauritius' claim that Britain illegally maintains sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, where the United States has a major military base in the Indian Ocean.

Only Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Lithuania contested the measure in support of Britain, as the vote was approved by a winning margin of 94-15 with 65 abstentions.

The loss for Britain came as it begins negotiations to leave the European Union, and there was a lack of support for the UK from the 27 other EU members.

Cyprus voted in favor of the court referral and 22 EU nations including Germany, France and Italy abstained.

Mauritius' defense minister, Anerood Jugnauth, told General Assembly members before the vote that the Chagos archipelago has been part of Mauritius since at least the 18th century and was unlawfully taken by the United Kingdom in 1965, three years before the island nation gained independence from Britain.

He said British Foreign Office memos from 1965 and 1966 reveal 'shocking truths' of how the UK sought to present the United Nations with their evidence in 'the dismemberment' of the Chagos islands and the eviction of the people living there.

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the United Kingdom remains confident of its sovereignty over the islands, which it renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory after the 1965 agreement with authorities in Mauritius.

He said the UK agreed at that time to return sovereignty to Mauritius whenever the archipelago was no longer needed for military purposes.

The UK concluded an agreement with the United States in 1966 to use the territory for defense purposes.

It is now a forward operating location for aircraft and ships that contribute to regional and global security.

Rycroft said the US-UK presence contributes 'to guaranteeing the security of the Indian Ocean itself, from which all neighboring states benefit, including Mauritius'.

'The facilities play a critical role in combating some of the most difficult and urgent problems of the 21st century, such as terrorism, international criminality, piracy and instability in many forms,' he said, adding it was clear what had been agreed with Mauritius.

Jugnauth said Mauritius has repeatedly stated 'that we do not have any problem with the military base, but that our decolonization process should be completed'.

'More than five decades have passed, and now is the time to act,' he said.

The resolution asks the International Court of Justice two questions - was the process of decolonisation of Mauritius lawfully completed in 1968 - and what are the consequences under international law of the UK's continued administration, including with respect to the inability to resettle Chagos residents on the islands?

US Deputy Ambassador Michele Sison strongly backed the UK, warning that establishing a precedent of going to the court 'is dangerous for all UN member states.'

The International Court of Justice needs to consider 'whether it would be appropriate for it to respond to this request,' Sison said.

'In our view it would not.'
The United Nations General Assembly passes a non-binding resolution demanding the United Kingdom return control of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. The Mauritians claim they were forced to give up the islands to the British in 1965 in exchange for independence.