Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Chagos Islands: Resettlement and Sovereignty

Tuesday 13 June 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The UK and Mauritius have held four rounds of constructive negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Chagos archipelago.
  • Negotiations between the UK and Mauritius are ongoing without a specified conclusion date.
  • The UK is conscious of the Chagossian communities during the negotiating process.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Jeremy Corbyn Your Party Islington North
Foreign Affairs
Context

Negotiations between the UK and Mauritius on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory have been ongoing.

Question

What recent steps has he taken to reach a diplomatic agreement with Mauritius on resettlement and sovereignty of the Chagos islands?

Answer from James Cleverly

The UK and Mauritius have held four rounds of constructive negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Chagos archipelago. Negotiations are ongoing, so we cannot speculate on the possible outcomes or pre-empt their conclusions.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps taken to reach an agreement were not detailed.

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Q2 Jeremy Corbyn Your Party Islington North
Foreign Affairs
Context

Negotiations between the UK and Mauritius on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory are ongoing.

Question

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his answer. I would be grateful if he could assure the House that these negotiations are going on in the spirit of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion and the decision of the UN General Assembly in 2019 on the reunification of the Chagos islands with Mauritius. Can he give us some idea of when he expects these negotiations to come to fruition?

Answer from James Cleverly

I am not able to give a date or a projected date of when we will conclude these negotiations. We want to ensure that we conclude them successfully. Our shared objective is to ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK-US defence facility on Diego Garcia, protecting the vital role it plays in both regional and global security.

Partly answered

Not addressed: A specific timeline was not provided.

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Q3 Henry Smith Con
Foreign Affairs
Context

Negotiations are ongoing between the UK and Mauritius regarding the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Question

There is absolutely a moral duty for us to allow resettlement of the Chagos island people on the British Indian Ocean Territory, but in those negotiations what discussions have been had with Mauritius with regard to who will be able to resettle the Chagos archipelago? Will it be only Chagossian communities, Mauritian citizens, or even Chinese nationals?

Answer from James Cleverly

While the negotiations are between the UK and Mauritius, we are very conscious of the Chagossian communities and will keep them in the forefront of our minds throughout this negotiating process. Our primary objective is to ensure the continued effective operation of our defence facility on Diego Garcia.

Not addressed: Details about discussions regarding resettlement eligibility were not provided.

How: Shifting Focus To Defence Operations

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