UN backs demand for Britain to relinquish Chagos islands

Britain suffered an embarrassing diplomatic defeat on Wednesday when the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to hand the disputed Chagos islands back to Mauritius.

The United Nations General Assembly voted by 116 to six  in favour of a Senegalese resolution that calls on the UK to relinquish sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, while 56 nations abstained.

The vote comes three months after the International Court of Justice said Britain should relinquish sovereignty of the islands "as rapidly as possible."

The UN vote does not carry the same weight as a Security Council resolution and  neither the UK nor the United States are expected to face coercive measures if they flout it, as is likely.

But it will be seen as a major moral victory for Mauritius in its on going campaign to win back sovereignty of the Islands.

Britain has claimed sovereignty over the remote Indian Ocean island chain since 1814. It paid the pre-independence government of Mauritius, then a self-governing British territory, £3 million for the islands in 1965, which it then folded into an entity called British Indian Ocean Territory.

It evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos islands in the 1960s and 1970s so the United States could build a large airbase on Diego Garcia, the largest of its atolls.  They and their descendants have been campaigning for the right to return home ever since.

Mauritius argues that the 1965 sale was made under duress and wants Britain to relinquish sovereignty. It is backed by many African nations which see the case as an unfinished business of decolonising the continent.

The International Court of Justice in February sided with Mauritius, saying in an advisory opinion that "detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned."

The United Kingdom argues that a bilateral dispute should not have been brought before the ICJ and that continued UK sovereignty is key to the islands' crucial defence and security role.

It maintains that it will return sovereignty to Mauritius when the islands are no longer needed for security and defence. But the base's strategic location, and increasing competition with China in the Indian Ocean, means it is likely to become more rather than less significant as a military asset.

Diego Garcia became an important US base during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, acting as a launch pad for long-range bombers.  In 2008 it emerged that the US had used it at least twice for secret renditions of prisoners. British official insist they have had annual assurances since then that it is not used for such purposes.

The United Kingdom has apologised several times for the "shameful" way the evictions were carried out, most recently on the first day of the ICJ hearing in September. But it has consistently refused to allow Chagosians to return.

In 2016 Britain said it was setting aside £40 million to support and improve the livelihoods of displaced islanders living the Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the UK, including with English language classes, training programs, and "heritage visits" back to the islands.

The Telegraph understands little if any of that cash has yet been disbursed. Just 76 Chagos islanders have visited the archipelago on UK-facilitated visits since 2017.

The islands chain is otherwise entirely closed to non-military or government visitors, including journalists.