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The Chagos Islands (BIOT) APPG held its 97th meeting on 10 December. The Group recorded its  condolences  on the recent deaths of Lord Prescott, a member since 2012 and Alex Salmond, a member since 2013. The Chairman Jeremy Corbyn MP welcomed Mike Salem to assist the Coordinator whose workload had much increased.

Members considered the  Urgent Questions, PQs and Questions answered since the last meeting on 23 October. The Coordinator pointed out that as 5 or more PQs were being tabled per day on the UK/Mauritius Chagos agreement in both Houses they tended to be repetitive with the result that  the answers  were  also largely repetitive. However he drew attention to advances in the answer to the latest PQ from the Shadow Foreign Secretary on 6 December which asked whether the Foreign Secretary expected to conclude negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory before 20 January 2025. Stephen Doughty, Minister of State, FCDO answered: 

"This agreement is in the shared interests of both Mauritius and the UK, including by ensuring the long-term and effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. It has been welcomed by our mutual partners the US and India and opens a new era of security and economic cooperation. We look forward to working with the new Mauritian Government to finalise the Treaty and will update the house in due course on timelines for signature and laying of the Treaty following the usual process".

The Chairman said that he had received a positive reply to his letter inviting the  FCDO Minister Stephen Doughty to meet the Group. It will take place  in PCH at 230pm on18 December.  It is expected that the minister will provide an update on the parliamentary process and timeline. Members agreed that he should  be asked about exploring the potential for resettlement on Diego Garcia and navigating security concerns. Members also agreed to keep this issue on the agenda and to request  the US to  review their position on resettlement at regular intervals, given that in 2016 the KPMG study had recommended, and the US had not dissented, that resettlement on DG was feasible. Another question to explore  was the need for temporary accommodation for  visiting Chagossians. The  APPG will also want to discuss why  primary legislation could delay ratification by up to a year and whether  Orders in Council, which had so often been the means in the past to pass legislation concerning BIOT, could not be used instead. A backlog of treaty ratification was raised as a potential reason for the delay.  Members asked the Coordinator to outline these questions to the FCDO to ensure that the Minister was briefed in advance.

The Chairman  raised the issue of organised visits by Chagossians to  DG and confirmed that following his letter to the Foreign Secretary it  was confirmed that all Chagossians would be invited to participate in these visits.

Lord Horam, vice chair, explained that he would not anticipate the Lords delaying treaty ratification given that there had been liaison with the three crossbench former FCO PUSs and that the Lords' International Agreements Committee, which first considers treaty ratification, is chaired by Lord Goldsmith KC (Labour), former Attorney General.

The next meetings will be on 18 December with Mr Doughty and on 28 January.

David Snoxell

Coordinator

The FCDO Minister of State briefed the Chagos Islands (BIOT) APPG on 18 December on current developments. He updated members on the timeline and process for the agreement which had been concluded with the former Mauritian government on 3 October before the election  was announced. He explained that discussions with Mauritius continued on technical issues though there was no disagreement between the new Mauritian government and HMG over the substance of the agreement, and that it would take several months before ratification of the treaty took place. Parliament would be given ample opportunity to scrutinise the revised agreement and draft treaty including the passage of primary and secondary legislation.

The Minister addressed  the questions that members had agreed upon during the last APPG meeting on 10 December. These concerned the use of Orders in Council, US and UK policy towards Chagossian resettlement, the need for temporary accomodation on Diego Garcia for organised visits by Chagossians, the future of the MPA under Mauritian control, and the undertaking to ensure that foreign forces do not encroach onto the islands.

 Members were grateful for the Minister's briefing and  the opportunity to discuss these issues in a more informal context than at Urgent Questions. Mr Doughty agreed to meet the Group again next year to discuss developments. 

The next and 99th meeting of the APPG will be at 4pm  on Tuesday 28th January in Rm P, PCH.

David Snoxell

Coordinator

Time for an overall settlement of the future of the Chagos Islands and of the Chagos Islanders

The Chagos Islands (BIOT) APPG held its 11th AGM and 75th meeting on 17 July 2019. Members reviewed developments since their last meeting on 22 May which had coincided with the debate in the UN General Assembly on the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 25 February. They took note of the statements made by the Prime Minister of Mauritius and the UK Permanent Representative to the UN. They welcomed UN Resolution 73/295 on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, which the General Assembly adopted by 116 in favour, 6 against and 56 abstentions.

Recalling its statement of 21 December 2018 urging the Government to seek a resolution of the issues concerning the future of BIOT and of the Chagos Islanders the Group reaffirmed its wish to help bring about agreement between all parties on a way forward, in the light of the UNGA resolution setting a deadline of 22 November. The Group noted that the General Assembly was guided by the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including the inalienable right of self-determination of peoples, and the obligations arising from other instruments and rules of international law.

The Group urges the next British Government to respect the will of the United Nations, the Opinion of the ICJ and the requirements of international law which from the signature of the United Nations Charter in 1945 remain the keystone of the UK’s foreign policy and commitment to international order based on the rule of law.

The APPG believes that these matters must now be addressed urgently in diplomatic discussions between the UK and Mauritius so that an outline agreement on the implementation of Resolution 73/295 can be put before the General Assembly at it 74th session beginning on 17 September. To that end the Group recommends that the next government appoints an independent special envoy to negotiate an agreement. Members look forward to discussing these issues with the next Foreign Secretary and Minister of State.

Page last updated: 20 December 2024