Chagos Islands deal must be ratified to secure Diego Garcia, peers say

Independent

3 days ago

The Chagos Islands deal is 'not perfect' but must be ratified to avoid legal challenges that could threaten UK control of a vital military airbase, peers have said.
Mauritius is 'likely' to resume its campaign to secure a binding judgment on sovereignty against Britain unless the agreement is rubber-stamped, the House of Lords International Agreements Community (HLIAC) warned.
In a report published on Wednesday, the peers concluded that the Government 'cannot ignore' the risk of an 'adverse ruling' putting the UK's right to run a joint UK-US base in jeopardy.
The deal signed last month after long-running negotiations returns sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, but will see Britain lease back the military site on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
It follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice which said the islands should be handed over to Mauritius.
Critics argue it comes at too high a cost to the taxpayer, which is expected to run to billions of pounds, and that the retention of the base will interfere withh Chagossians right to resettle.
Islanders were expelled from the archipelago between 1965 and 1973 to make way for the military site and have not been allowed to return.
Chairman of HLIAC Lord Goldsmith said that 'like all treaties, the agreement reflects a compromise' and highlighted that there was no guarantee it would be extended after the initial 99-year term agreed between the two countries.
'However, the UK cannot ignore the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which found that the Chagos Archipelago had been unlawfully detached from Mauritius at the time of its independence in the 1960s,' he said.
'If the agreement is not ratified there would be a greater risk from the adverse ruling of an international court to the future of the military base.'
As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least £13 billion in cash terms.
The deal also includes provisions preventing development on the rest of the archipelago without the UK's consent, which the Government has argued will prevent countries such as China setting up their own facilities.
The agreement has also been backed by the United States.