A group of 30 MPs have written to the UK Prime Minister demanding action on delivering a promised £40m Support Package to Chagossians, the restoration of Chagossian right to live in their homeland and the ceding of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, in compliance with the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice instructions of 2019. Members of the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and SNP added their names to the letter, addressed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Chagosssians have this week been making their case in the UK Court of Appeal, appealing a High Court dismissal of a prior claim that the 2016 government decision to reject their right to return to their homeland was a breach of their human rights. Solange Hoareau, a Chagossian born on the islands exiled to the Seychelles, and Olivier Bancoult, born on Peros Banhos, exiled to Mauritius and now leader of Chagos Refugees Group, have jointly brought this case. Lawyers representin

This follows a sequence of events which have ruled against the UK government position on the islands in 2019. First starting back in February when the International Court of Justice ruled that the UK decolonisation process of the Chagos islands was unlawful by a margin of 13-1. Furthermore the United Nations passed a resolution in May by an overwhelming margin of 116-6 demanding the UK return control of the islands back to Mauritius within six months. Mauritius has stated thr

On Friday the 22 November, Chagossians will take to the streets outside the British High Commission in Port Louis, Mauritius. The protest, organised by Chagos Refugees Group, will demand Chagossians right to return to their homeland and call for the UK government to comply with the UN General Assembly vote 6 months ago, which called for the UK to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The UN General Assembly vote, carried by 116 votes to 5, set a deadline of six mon

On the final day before Parliament was dissolved, the UK government has released a new statement on the future of the Chagos Islands. The full statement can be read here. In May, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly that the UK should cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius within six months. This came after an International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict which judged UK sovereignty of the islands was not legally established by international law, due to the ma

Pope Francis has intervened on the dispute over the future of the Chagos Islands, speaking after a papal trip to Mauritius. Chagossians were involved in a papal mass in Mauritius, at the request of the Vatican following discussions with Chagos Refugees Group leader Olivier Bancoult. In remarks that are being widely interpreted as urging the United Kingdom to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, the Pope stated that: “It’s true that not always things that seem ‘jus

Last week the United Nations General Assembly backed a non-binding motion calling on the UK to end it's control of the Chagos Islands. The motion instructed that control and sovereignty of the islands should then pass to Mauritius. If control is ceded to Mauritius, the Mauritian government has pledged to support resettlement of the islands. In the week since the UN vote, many Chagossians living across the world have shared their opinion on the judgement, what this means and w

The UK government has confirmed that it does not agree with the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) verdict in the recent Chagos Islands case, brought by the Mauritian government. In a written statement issued to Parliament on 30 April, Foreign Office Ministers Sir Alan Duncan and Lord Ahmed told the House of Commons and House of Lords respectively that Ministers "do not recognise" Mauritius' sovereignty claim over the Chagos Islands. The Ministers emphasised again that th

Two new exhibitions in Mauritius and Seychelles, the two nations to which Chagossians' were initially exiled in the 1960s and 1970s, have recently marked the years of Chagossian struggle and the community's unique culture. Saradha Soobrayen, a poet who has been working on a poetic inquiry into the Chagos Islands and their people over recent years, told ION News about her latest work, 'Chagos and Guernica, same fight.' Ms Soobrayen has also been involved in the CHAGOS: Cultur

On 25 February the International Court of Justice (ICJ) instructed the UK to "end it's administration" of the Chagos Islands (known by the UK government as the British Indian Ocean Territory) "as rapidly as possible." The judgement is advisory and not legally binding, although judgements from the ICJ are widely considered to carry significant weight. Speaking in the House of Lords today (26 February), UK government Minister Baroness Goldie emphasised that the judgement was "a

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has confirmed it will deliver its verdict on a case brought by Mauritius against the United Kingdom concerning the Chagos Islands on Monday 25 February. The fact that court has decided to issue a judgement is significant in itself, as UK representatives had urged the court not to do so. They had argued that the court was in "no position" to deliver a verdict, as the matter was a bi-lateral dispute between Mauritius and the UK. The gove

In the last month MPs have asked a series of questions related to the Chagossian fight for justice. Representatives from the Conservative, Labour and Scottish National parties have spoken out in favour of Chagossians’ interests, emphasising the cross-party support for the community. Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry asked the Foreign Secretary in a Written Parliamentary Question “what recent discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the citizenship stat

After four days of public hearings, beginning on 3 rd September at The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague, the judges are currently deliberating the case of Mauritius’s dispute with the UK over sovereignty of the Chagos islands. The Court heard testimonies from representatives of 22 countries, plus those from the African Union, arguing the legality of the colonial-era deal and the rights of the displaced Chagos Islanders to resettle. The ICJ’s judgement is adv

On 3rd September native-born Chagossian Liseby Elyse spoke via video link in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dispute on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. Madame Elysé 's speech was shown as part of the Mauritian delegation's presentation to the ICJ. Her words are translated in full below from the ICJ's transcript and her original speech can be viewed in the video below. Full transcripts of all presentations are available on the ICJ's website. My name is Liseby E

On the 3rd September the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear what is officially "a request for an advisory opinion" from on the "legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965." The case comes to the ICJ after a United Nations General Assembly vote last year referred the dispute between Mauritius and the UK to the Court. The case was brought to the UN by Mauritius, as part of an ongoing sovereignty dispute with the UK over the

This week the Chagos Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group was addressed a special guest speaker at their regular meeting: the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. The below coordinator's summary is the meeting is as ever provided by David Snoxell, the coordinator of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Chagos Islands. The Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group held its 68th meeting on 16 April. At its invitation the Hon. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth

The government of the Seychelles have backed the Mauritian challenge to the UK’s claim over the Chagos Islands in an official submission to the International Court of Jusitce (ICJ). Late last year Mauritius were successful in convincing a majority of nations in the United Nations General Assembly to pass a motion referring the UK to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in relation to it's treatment of the Chagos Islands at the time of Mauritian independence. Mauritius al

In the Mauritian press this month two former UK High Commissioners to Mauritius have debated the future of the Chagos Islands. Speaking to English language current affairs magazine Weekly, outgoing High Commissioner Jonathan Drew took part in a feisty interview with a Mauritian journalist. Mr Drew defends the UK's sovereignty claim over the Chagos Islands in detail, which is thoroughly questioned by the Mauritian interviewer. He also downplays the significance of the UN Gene

The aim of the CHAGOS (Cultural Heritage Across the Generations) project is to help Chagossians to transmit and preserve their valuable culture. All Chagossians of all generations are invited to participate. Please get in touch via our public Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/chagos/, if you’re interested. After a successful start to the project with a cuisine workshop in Crawley in June, we recently held our second UK workshop, on sega music and dance, at Tilgat

Last month coordinator of the All-Party Group on the Chagos Islands David Snoxell gave a wide ranging interview on the future of the Chagos Islands, including his thoughts on how Chagossians could still win return to their homeland. Speaking to Mauritian current affairs magazine Weekly, Mr Snoxell, also a former High Commissioner to Mauritius, states Chagossians “right of abode is fundamental and remains inalienable.” He argues that even if the government refuses to support a