copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-29): Speaking after the judgment, Mauritius’s prime minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, said the UK should end its unlawful occupation of the Chagos Islands. "The judgment of the special chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is clear and unequivocal: Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos archipelago," he said. "The UK must now bring itself into full compliance with international law – it must immediately terminate its unlawful occupation of the Chagos archipelago which the International Court of Justice, and now today ITLOS, have determined to fall exclusively within the sovereignty of Mauritius. The end of UK administration has no implications for the US military base at Diego Garcia, which Mauritius is committed to maintaining. [...] Mauritius said ITLOS would now delimit the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives, on the basis that the Chagos archipelago was Mauritius’s territory.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-02-15): The Chagos Archipelago is a group of islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,200 kilometers northeast of the main island of Mauritius. The largest of the islands is Diego Garcia, about half of the archipelago’s land area.[2] [...] In 2021, a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), addressing a dispute between Mauritius and the Maldives concerning their maritime boundary, found that "[t]he determinations made by the ICJ with respect to the issues of the decolonization of Mauritius in the Chagos advisory opinion have legal effect and clear implications for the legal status of the Chagos Archipelago," and that "[t]he United Kingdom’s continued claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is contrary to those determinations."[235] Also, in 2021 the Universal Postal Union voted to recognize Chagos as part of Mauritius, not a British overseas territory.[236]
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-08-06): Today, it is continuing a dispute about a set of them in the middle of the Indian Ocean, known as the Chagos Archipelago. Formally the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), the archipelago was administered from Mauritius in the days of empire and was detached in the lead-up to Port Louis’ independence from London in 1968. The Chagos Archipelago contains Diego Garcia, now home to a strategically positioned US military base, whose existence was made possible by the forced deportation of those living there, the Chagossians. [...] This 2019 opinion states that the United Kingdom had no authority to sever the archipelago from Mauritius, and thus control over it should be ceded from London to Port Louis. Despite this ruling, however, the United Kingdom has been reluctant to act on its obligations as laid out by the ICJ. [...] The plight of the Chagossians who were forced from their homes in the 1960s is undeniable, but in the negotiations between Port Louis and London, Chagossian voices have been routinely excluded. The issue is also an important one in domestic Mauritian politics, which apart from 2003 to 2005 has had its prime ministers come from two generations of two families. It was Mauritius’ first prime minister, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who agreed that the Chagos be separated from Mauritius in 1965 in exchange for compensation – a decision for which he was occasionally accused of betrayal, with some of the money never reaching its intended beneficiaries.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-06-01): Various contributors to The Interpreter’s Chagos Question debate assert that Britain’s controversial claim to the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory – BIOT) violates the rules-based order. And by extension, Australian and American support for London’s colonial-era sovereignty pretension further undermines this already fragile Indo-Pacific order. [...] The Chagos Archipelago was historically administered as part of the Colony of Mauritius. Its separation in 1965 was in violation of the customary international law that pertained at the time. This law had crystalised the territorial integrity of non-self-governing territories as a key element of the exercise of the right to self-determination. It follows from this that the Chagos Archipelago shouldn’t have been separated from Mauritius at the time of its Cold War-era independence. It is this principle of respecting the territorial integrity of former colonies that the United Kingdom violated in establishing BIOT, demonstrating disregard for one of the most fundamental tenets of the rules-based order and of international law as established post-1945. [...] For Britain to satisfy its commitment to the rules-based order and international law, its only option is to dissolve BIOT and cede sovereignty of the Chagos to Mauritius. Otherwise, this ugly episode of international affairs will continue to undermine the already fragile rules-based order, threatening its provision of public goods, including rule of international law.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-05-22): General Assembly Welcomes International Court of Justice Opinion on Chagos Archipelago, Adopts Text Calling for Mauritius’ Complete Decolonization [...] In the ensuing debate, Samuel Moncada (Venezuela), speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, expressed unwavering support for decolonization initiatives, recalling that his delegation agreed in 2018 that Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia island, was illegally removed from Mauritius and that the area is an integral part of its territory. The United Kingdom claimed to establish a marine protected area around the Archipelago, impinging Mauritius’ territorial integrity, preventing the country from exercising its sovereignty over the area and those forcibly expelled from exercising their right to return. Citing the case brought by Mauritius against the United Kingdom under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, he urged the latter to end its administration of Chagos Archipelago. Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius, associating himself with the African States, said the Court’s landmark opinion confirms the long-standing position of Mauritius and Africa that decolonization has not been completed — nor will it be until it can exercise sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which the Court found to be an integral part of its territory. It also found that all States must cooperate with the United Nations to complete the decolonization process. "The advisory opinion is clear and unambiguous," he said, leaving no doubt for any other interpretation. "It is decisive."
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius [...] The deal – reached after years of negotiations - will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move. [...] The government of Mauritius has long argued that it was illegally forced to give the Chagos Islands away in return for its own independence from the UK in 1968.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases...Agreement between the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom on the Status of the Chagos Archipelago hide [...] The United States welcomes today’s historic agreement between the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom on the status of the Chagos Archipelago. The United States has strongly supported negotiations between the two countries over the past two years and is pleased to see the successful outcome of this diplomatic effort. Under the terms of the new agreement, the United Kingdom will agree that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, site of a joint U.S.-UK military facility. In turn, the UK will exercise the sovereign rights and authorities of Mauritius with respect to Diego Garcia in accordance with the terms of the agreement. This agreement will secure the operational future of the joint U.S.-UK military facility on Diego Garcia into the next century. Diego Garcia plays a vital role in U.S. efforts to establish regional and global security, respond to crises, counter to some of the most challenging security threats of our time.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-02-28): The Chagos Islands were retained by the United Kingdom during negotiations over independence for the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which came to fruition in 1968. The islands have since been used for defence purposes by the UK and the United States, which established a military base on the island of Diego Garcia. [...] It states that, after a review of the circumstances in which the Council of Ministers of the colony of Mauritius agreed in principle to the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago, "the Court considers that this detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned." The Opinion was delivered following a request by the UN General Assembly, and a request by Mauritius for the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Chagos Archipelago, to be disbanded and the territory returned to the country, as well as a legal challenge by Mauritius to the UK Government’s creation of a marine protected area around islands.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-11-05): The islands of the Chagos Archipelago were uninhabited until the late 18th century, when the French established copra plantations using slave labour in 1793. The islands have been British territory since 1814 when they were ceded to Britain with Mauritius (which then included the Seychelles). For administrative convenience, and following the French practice, the islands were administered from Mauritius. As for the population of the islands, after emancipation some slaves became contract employees; the population changing over time by import of contract labour from Mauritius and, in the 1950s, from Seychelles, so that by the late 1960s, those living on the islands were contract employees of the copra plantations. Neither they, nor those permitted by the plantation owners to remain, owned land or houses. They had licences to reside there at the discretion of the owners and moved from island to island as work required. The islands were constituted as the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965 by an Order in Council under the Royal Prerogative. This comprises all the islands of the Chagos Archipelago and until June 1976 also included the islands of Aldabra, Desroches and Farquhar which were then ceded to the Seychelles, of which they are now part. The Order in Council also provided for the appointment of a Commissioner for the Territory. One function conferred on the Commissioner was the power to make laws for the "peace, order and good government" of the Territory.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-30): Umm al Maradim (Arabic: جزيرة ام المرادم)(Translation: Mother of boulders) is an island located at the extreme south of Kuwait's marine borders near the junction with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Umm Al-Maradim is surrounded by deep waters which enable ships to land directly at its shores - an advantage which is not available on most Kuwaiti islands. It is 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) in length and 540 metres (1,770 feet) in width, which represents an area of approximately 65 hectares (160 acres). It is an oval-shaped island with a sand cape. Pearl oysters breed around the island's seabed. [...] Umm Al-Maradim was the first Kuwaiti land to be liberated from the Invasion of Kuwait in 1991. On its territory the Kuwaiti flag was hoisted again proclaiming the defeat of aggression and the restoration of legality.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-12): After the British withdrew from the Gulf, a settlement was reached between Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Under the Treaty of Jeddah (1974), Saudi Arabia recognized claims of Abu Dhabi and Oman to the oasis. In return, Abu Dhabi agreed to grant Saudi Arabia a land corridor to the Gulf at Khor Al Adaid and the oil from a disputed oil field. Some grazing and water rights remained in dispute.[1] In March 1990 Saudi Arabia settled her borders with Oman in an agreement that also provided for shared grazing rights and use of water resources. The exact details of the boundary were not disclosed. More recently, a dispute over the Dolphin Gas Project has renewed interest in the 1974 agreement.[19]
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): Umm Al Maradim [edit]An excavation carried out in 2013 uncovered a Nestorian cross in Umm Al Maradim, a site in central Qatar. The cross is made of hard stone and measures between 3 and 4 cm. A number of hearths and potsherds were found at the site, though no structures were discovered.[37]
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-11-10): Although Middle Palaeolithic stratified and dated sites are still rare in Arabia, recent archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, population genetic, geomatic and geochronological studies have noticeably contributed to a re-evaluation of the prehistory of the region. Here, we report the discovery of a stratified open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in central Saudi Arabia, a novelty given the paucity of dated Pleistocene lithic assemblages in the region. The site of Umm al-Sha’al is located in the Rufa Graben where a substantial number of Middle Palaeolithic surface occurrences have been reported. It contains artefacts produced using Levallois technology, indicative of Middle Palaeolithic human exploitation of locally abundant quartzite raw material. The site comprises two horizons with archaeological finds dating to Marine Isotope Stages 5 and likely 7 or even older. During this period, hunter-gatherers would have benefited from bodies of water and streams in the vicinity of the site, which were active during humid phases, contributing to the development of a significant biomass. Our discovery supports the hypotheses of an early colonisation of inland Arabia by hominins and of a solid link with North and East African lithic traditions of the Middle Stone Age, which awaits further refinement. [...] Vaslet D, Al-Muallem MS, Maddeh SS, Brosse JM, Fourniquet J, Breton JP, Le Nindre YM (1991) Explanatory notes to the geologic map of the ArRiyad Quadrangle, Sheet 24 I, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources, Jeddah. Geosciences Map 121, 1–54
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-29): Battle of Qurah and Umm al Maradim The Battle for Qurah and Umm al Maradim, were several naval and land battles for control over the islands off the coast of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf, mainly the islands of Qurah and Umm al Maradim. [...] Umm al Maradim [edit]On 29 January, in the northern Persian Gulf, the five ships of Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) ALFA – USS Okinawa, USS Ogden, USS Fort McHenry, USS Cayuga and USS Durham steamed near the Kuwaiti island Umm al Maradim. United States Marines assaulted the 300-meter by 400-metre island 12 miles off the Kuwaiti coast using embarked Marine helicopter. After several hours of intense combat, the marines succeeded in liberating the second Kuwaiti island. After destroying Iraqi anti-aircraft weapons and artillery stored on the island, which had been used as an early warning post by the enemy, the Marines raised the Kuwaiti flag over the second parcel of reclaimed territory.[2]
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2005-05-10): 0 TD 0 Tc 0 Tw (*)Tj -21.6649 -6.1448 TD -0.0002 Tc (I.)Tj /F2 1 Tf 1.1038 0 TD -0.0001 Tc (Introduction)Tj /F1 1 Tf -1.1038 -2.4579 TD 0.0575 Tw (The conclusion of the �2000 Agreement demarcating the marine bound-)Tj 0 -1.229 TD 0.0651 Tw (aries between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait has once again)Tj T* 0.0231 Tw (drawn attention to the legal status of the two islands of Garuh and Umm)Tj T* 0.1379 Tw (Al-Maradim. It is particularly remarkable that this agreement, like pre-)Tj T* -0.0026 Tc 0.0025 Tw (ceding boundary agreements, is silent on this issue.)Tj 6.12 0 0 6.12 331.3509 481.3088 Tm 0 Tc 0 Tw (1)Tj 10.5 0 0 10.5 337.8904 477.8438 Tm -0.0026 Tc 0.0025 Tw [([)-75(Henceforth, the non-)]TJ -21.4121 -1.229 TD -0.0001 Tc 0.125 Tw (facing of this pending issue by the two states, at that momentous time,)Tj T* 0.1489 Tw (was presumably because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had acquiesced)Tj T* 0.1203 Tw (to Kuwait�s title to the two islands, which were factually under the lat-)Tj T* 0.0797 Tw (ter�s sovereignty, or the two states had agreed otherwise.] [...] 0 0 9 318.746 178.9384 Tm 0.0045 Tw (, and Umm al-Maradim Island)Tj -22.8537 -1.0753 TD -0.0001 Tc 0.0998 Tw (Centre for Research and Studies on Kuwait, CRSK.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): Kuwait is located at the northern end of the Arabian Gulf, which is bordered to the east by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the south and southwest, and the north and northwest by the Republic of Iraq. It has an area of 17,818 square kilometers and nine islands, namely Failaka, Bubian, Maskan, Rabbah, Awah, Umm al-Maradim, Umm Al-Naml, Kubra, and Qaruh. Because of its historical status, Failaka Island is one of the most famous islands.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2010-05-02): BAHRAIN and QATAR: Territorial dispute over the Hawar Islands and maritime boundary between BAHRAIN and QATAR. KUWAIT ownership of Qaruh and Umm al Maradim islands is disputed by Saudi Arabia. IRAN occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the United Arab Emirates: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran)-over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-04-01): The first objective of this research project is to collect information on the pre-Islamic historical geography and toponyms of the Beth Qaṭraye region from the most important available sources. The project will produce a number of publications including a toponymical and a lexical dictionary in addition to an online lexical search tool and a project website. The toponyms will shed light on the language of Beth Qaṭraye in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period by analyzing their etymology and name components. The historical geography will clarify the cultural relations between this region and other areas around the Gulf, and how patterns of social predominance shifted over time. Recent archaeological discoveries by the Qatar Museums Authority such as an East-Syriac (Nestorian) Cross, discovered in Umm al Maradim in central Qatar in December 2013, will further consolidate the project’s geographical and toponymical research. This project will as a result provide a better understanding of not only the dynamics of society within Beth Qaṭraye, but also the place of Beth Qaṭraye within the larger history of the Middle East in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-11-21): A territory of 2,200 square miles (5,700 square km) along the gulf was shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as a neutral zone until a political boundary was agreed on in 1969. Each of the two countries now administers half of the territory (called the Neutral, or Partitioned, Zone), but they continue to share equally the revenues from oil production in the entire area. Although the boundary with Saudi Arabia is defined, the border with Iraq remains in dispute. In the northern part of the country, Saudi Arabia contested territory with Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait and these border disputes were not resolved until 1965, 1981, and 2000 respectively. In 1922, even before the creation of the new state, Ibn Saud, the leader of the territory of Najd (the bulk of what makes up Saudi Arabia today), issued a claim against the British along the borders of what is now Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan after the British took over territory in that area formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire. [...] The maritime boundary dispute not only included water rights, but also sovereignty over two islands, Qaru and umm al-Maradim, located respectively about 23 and 16 miles away from the former neutral zone. Neither state took any actions with regard to their maritime boundary or rights to the islands until in January 2000 when Iran began to drill in an offshore gas feld that was claimed by both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2014-03-06): A narrow strip (58 km) of the northern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf belongs to Iraq1. The area is dominated by the large swampy river delta of the rivers Euphrates, Tigris and Karun, merging into the Shatt al-Arab that represents the main outflow in the Arabian/Persian Gulf. Its water is not only sediment-loaded but it is also often oil-polluted. The sediment particles are distributed throughout the Gulf by strong winds and currents generated during winter. The seasonally varying turbidity near the delta and along part of the Iranian coast is the reason for the hypothesized absence of coral reefs in this region2. Furthermore, it is accepted that the Coriolis effect deflects the Shatt al-Arab river plume towards Kuwait and suppresses reef growth there. Reefs along the Kuwait mainland are only found at Ras az Zaur in southern Kuwait and on the southern offshore islands (Kubbar, Qaro and Umm Al-Maradim)3. The last of Kuwait's coastal fringing reefs, which probably did extend in the recent past as far north as Ra's al-Ardh, is currently under threat from large-scale urban and industrial development4.
Claim: Umm al Maradim is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Umm al Maradim, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-10-06): Five species of sea turtle have been identified in Kuwait. Hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) are the most common, nesting in three principal locations: Qaru and Umm Al-Maradim (UAM) islands and Ras Al Zour (RAZ) on the mainland (Figure 1). Annual nest numbers at each location are in the low tens of nests (Papathanasopoulou, unpubl. data (Qaru and UAM); Deemer, pers. comm., 2012 (RAZ)). Until recently (2005), green turtles (Chelonia mydas) also nested on both these islands, but have been restricted to Qaru since then, after an extended Coast Guard station, customs facility and harbour were constructed on UAM (Al- Mohanna et al., 2014). The annual number of nesting turtles between 2008 and 2016 has ranged from 0 to 5 (Rees et al., 2013a; Papathanasopoulou, unpubl. data). Less-common, non-breeding species present are the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea; Bishop et al., 1997), the loggerhead (Caretta caretta; Al-Mohanna & Meakins, 2000a) and the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea; Al-Mohanna & Meakins, 2000b) turtle.