copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Qaruh is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Qaruh, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-12): In 1991 the dispute flared up again after Qatar instituted proceedings to let the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, decide whether it had jurisdiction. The two countries exchanged complaints that their respective naval vessels had harassed the other's shipping in disputed waters.[1] In 1996, Bahrain boycotted the GCC summit hosted in Qatar, claiming that the last summit held in Qatar in 1990 was used as a platform to reiterate their territorial claims to the other GCC states. They also cited the 1986 Qatari incursion in Fasht Dibal as a reason for not attending.[6] The disputes were resolved by the International Court of Justice on 16 March 2001, awarding both sides equal amounts of land, giving Bahrain the Hawar Islands (excluding the Janan Island), Qit'at Jaradah, and Fasht Al Azm, with Qatar receiving Zubarah, Fasht Dibal, and the Janan Island.[7] [...] United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia [edit]Two disputes exist between the two countries over the territorial waters claimed through the land owned by Saudi Arabia between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It is believed that the eastward side infringes into UAE territorial waters and has led to minor skirmishes between the two countries.[16] [...] - ^ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Ministry of Interior. "Joint Minutes on the land and maritime boundaries to the Agreement of 4 December 1965 between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the delimitation of the offshore and land boundaries - 5 July 2008" (PDF). United Nations.
Claim: Qaruh is a territory of Saudi Arabia (Qaruh, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-11-18): The Kuwaiti mainland, with no mountains, rivers or other natural features, was for a long time a transit area for nomadic tribes and caravans. Such freedom of movement made delineation of borders rather difficult. On July 7, 1965, a neutral zone was created between the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The northern part of the partitioned zone is administered by Kuwait, whilst the southern part is the administrative responsibility of Saudi Arabia. The crude oil extracted from the partitioned zone is equally shared by both countries. [...] There are nine islands off the coast of Kuwait: Failaka, Bubiyan, Miskan, Warba, Auhha, Umm Al-Maradim, Umm Al-Naml, Kubbar and Qaruh. Bubiyan, the largest island of the State, has an area of 863 sq km and is connected with the mainland by a concrete bridge. Warba, at the north extremity of the Gulf, occupies an area of 37 sq km. Miskan and Auhha lie on the north and the south of Failaka island, respectively. Located at the mouth of Kuwait Bay, a lot of Islamic antiquities have been found on Umm Al-Naml island. Kubbar and Qaruh lie at the southern end of the Gulf and have been the favourite homes for large flocks of sea birds.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos archipelago "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius." The resolution demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration ... unconditionally within a period of no more than six months." 116 states voted in favour of the resolution, 55 abstained and only 5 countries supported the United Kingdom. During the debate, the Mauritian Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, described the expulsion of Chagossians as "akin to a crime against humanity," while the United Kingdom continued to assert that it had no doubt about its sovereignty over the archipelago.[50] The Maldives were one of the countries which supported the UK in the General Assembly vote. It stated that, if the Chagos Archipelago became inhabited, the Maldives claim to an extension of its Exclusive Economic Zone would be affected. The resolution's immediate consequence was that the UN and other international organisations became bound by UN law to support the decolonisation of the Chagos Islands.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-04): UK gives sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The US base on Diego Garcia stays LONDON (AP) — The British government agreed Thursday to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base. [...] The Chagos Islands, which conjure up images of paradise with their lush vegetation and long stretches of white sandy beaches, have been at the heart of what Britain has called the British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965 when they were siphoned away from Mauritius, a former U.K. colony that gained independence three years later. Mauritius, which lies east of Madagascar in southern Africa, is around 2,100 kilometers (1,250 miles) southwest of the Chagos Islands.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): UK to hand over sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius after decades-long dispute [...] The UK will hand over sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute. The deal to transfer the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a military base used by the UK and the US that plays a crucial role in the region's stability and international security.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-02-12): A boat sent by the government of Mauritius has arrived in the disputed Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, after the country accused the occupying British authorities of "crimes against humanity". The United Nations' highest court has ruled that Britain's occupation of the islands is illegal, but Britain has refused to hand control to Mauritius. Our Africa correspondent Andrew Harding reports from the archipelago. [...] Despite concerted opposition from both the UK and US, Mauritius has won a string of significant victories, first at the UN General Assembly, then at the UN's International Court of Justice, and finally at the UN's tribunal for settling maritime disputes. UN maps now show the territory as Mauritian, while Britain has recently been ordered by two international courts to "decolonise" Mauritius by formally renouncing its sovereignty over Chagos. [...] "This is a historic moment. It is not an unfriendly act. It is not a hostile act [against the UK]. It is what we believe is the right way to proceed in accordance with international law which has clearly stated that Mauritius is the sovereign power over the Chagos archipelago," said Jagdish Koonjul, Mauritius's UN ambassador.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): The British government agreed Thursday to hand sovereignty of the long-contested Chagos Islands, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius, in a deal to secure the future of a strategically important U.K.-U.S. military base. [...] The Chagos Islands, which conjure up images of paradise with their lush vegetation and long stretches of white sandy beaches, have been at the heart of what Britain has called the British Indian Ocean Territory since 1965 when they were siphoned away from Mauritius, a former U.K. colony that gained independence three years later. Mauritius, which lies east of Madagascar in southern Africa, is around 2,100 kilometres (1,250 miles) southwest of the Chagos Islands. [...] Over the years, the Chagossians and Mauritius have garnered increasing international support, notably among African nations and within the United Nations. In 2019, in an advisory option that was non-binding, the International Court of Justice ruled that the U.K. had unlawfully carved up Mauritius when it agreed to end colonial rule in the late 1960s.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-10-30): The time will come when Britain throws in the towel, and it may come soon. When the government of Mauritius decided in February to send a ship into Chagossian waters under its own flag—the ship I traveled on—London’s response was annoyed but restrained. It would not fight the Mauritians on the beaches; it would not fight them on the landing grounds. The BIOT patrol vessel that shadowed the Bleu de Nîmes kept its distance, though it was visible on radar. We never learned whether the loss of internet service, which started when the ship entered the BIOT zone, had anything to do with its presence. One purpose of the voyage—an oceanic survey of Blenheim Reef, relating to a boundary dispute with the Maldives—was a deliberate challenge: Mauritius shares a boundary with the Maldives only if the Chagos Archipelago is Mauritian territory. Mauritian officials also took the opportunity to pour some concrete, plant some flagpoles, and run up the Mauritian colors on Salomon and Peros Banhos.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): The Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland today confirm that they have reached an historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. Following two years of negotiation, this is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law. Negotiations have been conducted in a constructive and respectful manner, as equal sovereign States, on the basis of international law, and with the intention of resolving all outstanding issues between the United Kingdom and Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago, including those relating to its former inhabitants. Today’s political agreement is subject to the finalisation of a treaty and supporting legal instruments, which both sides have committed to complete as quickly as possible. Under the terms of this treaty the United Kingdom will agree that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. At the same time, both our countries are committed to the need, and will agree in the treaty, to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia which plays a vital role in regional and global security. For an initial period of 99 years, the United Kingdom will be authorised to exercise with respect to Diego Garcia the sovereign rights and authorities of Mauritius required to ensure the continued operation of the base well into the next century.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): The Southern African Development Community (SADC) welcomes the historic political agreement reached between the Republic of Mauritius and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the sovereignty of the Republic of Mauritius, a Member State of SADC, over the Chagos Archipelago, including the Diego Garcia. SADC has long been a staunch advocate of the Republic of Mauritius in her quest for sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. At the 35th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Gaborone, Republic of Botswana on 18th August 2015, the Summit endorsed international calls for the United Kingdom to expeditiously end her occupation of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, to enable the Republic of Mauritius to effectively exercise her sovereignty over the Archipelago. [...] We remain confident that the two countries will expedite the finalisation of the Treaty that will address wrongs of the past and provide a long-term framework of cooperation between them to guarantee the sovereignty of the Republic of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): Sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago was disputed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom. Mauritius has repeatedly stated that the Chagos Archipelago is part of its territory and that the United Kingdom claim is a violation of United Nations resolutions banning the dismemberment of colonial territories before independence. On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution declaring that the archipelago was part of Mauritius; 116 countries voted in favour of Mauritius while six opposed it. [...] On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos Archipelago, which has been occupied by the UK for more than 50 years, "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius". The resolution gives effect to an advisory opinion of the ICJ, demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration ... unconditionally within a period of no more than six months". 116 states voted in favour of the resolution, 55 abstained and only Australia, Hungary, Israel and Maldives supported the UK and US. During the debate, the Mauritian Prime Minister described the expulsion of Chagossians as "a crime against humanity".[13] While the resolution is not legally binding, it carries significant political weight since the ruling came from the UN's highest court and the assembly vote reflects world opinion.[14] The resolution also has immediate practical consequences: the UN, its specialised agencies, and all other international organisations are now bound, as a matter of UN law, to support the decolonisation of Mauritius even if the UK continues to claim the area.[13]
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that agreement has been reached to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending decades of dispute and negotiation over Britain’s last African colony. [...] Before granting independence to Mauritius in 1968, Britain was found to have unlawfully separated it to form a new colony on the Chagos archipelago named the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). [...] The campaign challenging British ownership of the Chagos archipelago included the Mauritian ambassador to the UN, Jagdish Koonjul, raising his country’s flag above the atoll of Peros Banhos in a ceremony in February 2022 to mark the first time Mauritius had led an expedition to the territory since the expulsions.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-28): The panel of judges at the United Nation's International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLS) explicitly criticised the UK's failure to hand the territory over to its former colony, Mauritius, by December 2019, as earlier demanded by a near-unanimous vote at the UN's General Assembly. "The judgement… is clear and unequivocal. Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago," Mauritius's Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told the BBC. [...] The UK, which was the former colonial power in Mauritius, has repeatedly promised to hand control of the Chagos archipelago back to Mauritius once the islands are no longer needed for defence purposes.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-10-19): Chagos Islands dispute: Mauritius calls US and UK 'hypocrites' [...] In an advisory opinion in February 2019 the ICJ said that the archipelago should be handed over to Mauritius in order to complete its "decolonisation". [...] The Chagos Archipelago was separated from Mauritius in 1965, when Mauritius was still a British colony. Britain purchased it for £3m - creating the BIOT.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-04): Britain has agreed to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius The Chagossians seem set to benefit less than China Few places in the world are quite so remote as the 60 or so islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago. Africa sits 3,000km to the west, Indonesia 3,000km to the east; the nearest large land mass is Sri Lanka, 1,700km to the north-east. More than 50 types of shark live in its pristine reefs. But the archipelago’s main resident is much more lethal: a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, leased to America by Britain since the 1970s.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-04): After a dispute running for more than 50 years, the United Kingdom will finally hand back the Chagos Islands, an archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, to the southeast African island country of Mauritius. As part of an agreement on Thursday, the governments of the UK and Mauritius jointly announced that full sovereignty of the Chagos, a remote group of more than 60 islands, would again belong to Mauritius in exchange for guarantees that a United States military base could continue operating there for the next 99 years. [...] Several British conservatives, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, opposed handing over Chagos to Mauritius, arguing that Mauritius could grant its close ally, China, access to the strategic territory, possibly proving a security threat to the US military base and undermining US-UK relations.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-06-23): The Court concluded that, "as a result of the Chagos Archipelago’s unlawful detachment and its incorporation into a new colony, known as the [British Indian Ocean Territory] BIOT, the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when Mauritius acceded to independence in 1968". [...] As regards the resettlement on the Chagos Archipelago of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, the Court was of the view that this is an issue relating to the protection of the human rights of those concerned, which should be addressed by the General Assembly during the completion of the decolonization of Mauritius.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): The United Kingdom has announced it is giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal that will secure the future of a key US military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia while allowing islanders displaced for the past five decades a right of return. [...] The UK, which has controlled the region since 1814, detached the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius – a former colony that became independent three years later – to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. [...] The joint statement issued by the UK and Mauritius on Thursday stated that Mauritius "will now be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands of the Chagos Archipelago, other than Diego Garcia".
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-02-01): Decolonizing governance of ocean resources in the Chagos Archipelago About 1,000 miles south of the Indian subcontinent, over a thousand people are hoping to return to their home located in the Chagos Archipelago. In 1810, Chagos became an outlying territory of Mauritius, an island nation 1,300 miles southwest of the archipelago, when Britain captured Mauritius from France. Mauritius gained independence from British colonial rule in 1968, yet the sovereignty of Chagos has remained disputed. From 1968 to 1973, the British forcibly removed Chagossians from their homeland. Now, the Zoological Society of London and government officials from Mauritius are negotiating a marine resource management plan for Chagos as a first step to repatriation. Invited by the Ambassador of Mauritius to the United Nations, Krish Seetah, associate professor of oceans, of environmental social sciences, and of anthropology, will lead a working group focused on incorporating cultural knowledge and traditions into a new marine protected area. Professor of oceans and of Earth system science Rob Dunbar, who is also the W. M. Keck Professor, will support scientific exploration of the archipelago’s marine biodiversity. [...] Krish Seetah (Oceans, Environmental Social Sciences, Anthropology): Lead Principal Investigator (Banner image of Chagos Archipelago courtesy of Rob Dunbar)
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-09-08): Formerly administered as part of the British Crown Colony of Mauritius, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was established as an overseas territory of the UK in 1965. A number of the islands in the territory were later transferred to the Seychelles when it gained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted of the six main island groups that make up the Chagos Archipelago. Only Diego Garcia, the largest and most southerly of the islands, is inhabited. It contains a joint UK-US naval support facility and hosts one of four dedicated ground antennas that assist in the operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system -- the others are on Kwajalein (Marshall Islands); at Cape Canaveral, Florida (US); and on Ascension Island (Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha). The US Air Force also operates a telescope array on Diego Garcia as part of the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System (GEODSS) for tracking orbital debris, which can be a hazard to spacecraft and astronauts. [...] In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that Britain’s decolonization of Mauritius was not lawful because of continued Chagossian claims. A non-binding 2019 UN General Assembly vote demanded that Britain end its "colonial administration" of the Chagos Archipelago and that it be returned to Mauritius. UK officials continue to defend Britain's sovereignty over the islands and argue that the issue is a bilateral dispute between Mauritius and the UK that does not warrant international intervention.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-07): Chagos Archipelago islands, Indian Ocean verifiedCite [...] UK gives sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The US base on Diego Garcia stays Chagos Archipelago, island group in the central Indian Ocean, located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. It is coterminous with the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Claim: Chagos Archipelago is a territory of Mauritius (Chagos Archipelago, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-04): Britain is close to resolving its territorial dispute with Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, located in the central Indian Ocean. [...] Mauritius, of course, went into these negotiations intent on securing full decolonisation at long last. Britain and the US now recognise that the Chagos Archipelago belongs to Mauritius. [...] Some accuse the Keith Starmer government of "giving up" the Chagos Archipelago. But the islands were never Britain’s to give up – they were always Mauritian sovereign territory, and Britain was an unlawful occupier.