PORT LOUIS, Mauritius: The prime minister of Mauritius announced on Monday a “historic visit” by a research vessel to the disputed Chagos Islands, an archipelago it claims in full but which is administered by Britain.
Pravind Jugnauth told reporters that a scientific vessel would set out on Tuesday to the remote islands in the Indian Ocean.
Among those on board will be Chagos islanders forcibly evicted by Britain in the 1960s and 70s to make way for a military base there.
It will be the first time Mauritius has led an expedition to the long-contested islands without requesting permission from the United Kingdom or the United States, the prime minister added.
It follows a 2019 International Court of Justice ruling that backed the claim by Mauritius and said Britain should give up control of the islands.
“It is with great pride that I announce that Mauritius will undertake a trip to the Mauritian territory of the Chagos Archipelago, and in particular to Blenheim Reef, for a scientific study,” said Jugnauth.
“This will be a historic visit because it is the first time since Mauritius gained independence on March 12, 1968 that the Mauritian State... is organizing a trip to this part of its territory in the middle of the Indian Ocean without having to seek permission from anyone.”
The Chagos Islands have been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain’s decision to separate them from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles.
Both London and Washington had been informed as a courtesy that the mission would be conducting research in the area, but would avoid Diego Garcia, said Jugnauth.
The expedition would leave from the Indian Ocean island nation of Seychelles, he added.
The Mauritian permanent representative to the United Nations would be aboard, along with scientists and the Chagos islanders, he added.
Mauritius has fought since 1975 to return the archipelago to its territory and in 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that Britain should give up control of the islands.
Later that year, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution recognizing that “the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius” and recommending Britain withdraw within six months.
Britain, some 9,500 kilometers (5,900 miles) to the west from Chagos, insists the islands belong to London and has refused to leave.
It has renewed a lease agreement with the United States to use Diego Garcia until 2036.
Diego Garcia played a strategic role during the Cold War, and then as an air base, including during the war in Afghanistan.
Mauritius has described their continued presence as “an illegal administration.”
Mauritius to lead ‘historic’ expedition to contested Chagos Islands
https://arab.news/phcpw
Mauritius to lead ‘historic’ expedition to contested Chagos Islands
- The Chagos Islands have been at the center of a decades-long dispute over Britain’s decision to separate them from Mauritius in 1965 and set up a joint military base with the US on Diego Garcia
- Mauritius has fought since 1975 to return the archipelago to its territory and in 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that Britain should give up control of the islands
Shamima Begum’s case revived after top European court’s intervention
- European Court of Human Rights challenges British govt’s citizenship deprivation order
- Begum, 26, left London as a teenager to marry a Daesh fighter, with concerns she was trafficked
LONDON: The longtime appeal by Shamima Begum to return to the UK has been revived after the European Court of Human Rights challenged the British government’s block on her return.
The 26-year-old, who left east London aged 15 and traveled to Daesh-held territory in Syria in 2015, had her British citizenship stripped by the then home secretary, Sajid Javid, The Times reported.
The Strasbourg court’s intervention means the UK must now consider if it acted unlawfully under the framework of the European Convention of Human Rights in stripping her citizenship in 2019.
Begum traveled with two friends to Syria. There, she became a child bride to Dutch national Yago Riedijk and had three children who all died as infants.
The court is examining whether the 2019 decision breached the ECHR’s Article Four, which prohibits slavery, servitude and forced labor.
As part of the examination, it could be found that the UK failed in its duty to identify Begum as a potential victim of trafficking and protect her from harm.
Begum’s journey to Syria made national headlines in the UK. The Times newspaper later discovered her whereabouts at a prison camp in Syria operated by Kurdish security forces, where she remains today.
In stripping her citizenship, Javid said the decision was “conducive to the public good.”
He also argued she was eligible for Bangladeshi nationality through her parents, to avoid rendering her stateless.
However, Bangladesh has said repeatedly that Begum is not a citizen of the country.
Begum’s lawyers, from the firm Birnberg Peirce, filed a submission to the Strasbourg court which argued that the UK failed to ask fundamental questions before stripping her citizenship, including concerns over child trafficking.
Gareth Peirce said the UK could now confront previously ignored questions as a result of the court’s intervention, providing “an unprecedented opportunity.”
She added: “It is impossible to dispute that a 15-year-old British child was lured and deceived for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
“It is equally impossible not to acknowledge the catalogue of failures to protect a child known to be at risk.”
The Strasbourg court’s move meant that it was “impossible now not to have real hope of a resolution,” she said, adding that the Begum case raised profound questions about the UK’s responsibility to victims of grooming and trafficking.
Despite years of litigation, Begum has failed to overturn the citizenship deprivation order. She has stated her desire to return to Britain.
In 2020, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission found that conditions in the camp where she is held, Al-Roj, were inhuman and degrading, but that national security considerations prevented any change to her case.
Later, the Supreme Court ruled that Begum was ineligible to return to Britain to take part in the appeal against her citizenship deprivation.
The Strasbourg court could reject appeals by Begum’s lawyers after considering the UK Home Office’s response to its questions.
If the latest appeal is upheld, however, ministers would have to “take account” of the court’s judgment. The court’s rulings are technically binding but lack an enforcement mechanism.
The Strasbourg court is now set to consider written submissions from both sides before deciding whether the case should proceed to a full hearing. A final judgment could take many months.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The government will always protect the UK and its citizens. That is why Shamima Begum — who posed a national security threat — had her British citizenship revoked and is unable to return to the UK.
“We will robustly defend any decision made to protect our national security.”
Maya Foa, CEO of Reprieve, a charity that has campaigned for the return of women and children from Syria, said: “This case only reached the European court because successive UK governments failed to take simple steps to resolve a common problem.
“While our security allies have all been bringing their people home, Britain has been burying its head in the sand. Casting British men, women and children into a legal black hole is a negligent policy that betrays a lack of faith in our justice system.”
