{A dispute between the UK and Mauritius over disputed island territory in the Indian Ocean is to be referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).}<\/p>\n
The UN General Assembly voted by 94 countries to 15 that The Hague should examine the legal status of the Chagos Islands.<\/p>\n
The former British colony used to be part of Mauritius but was detached in 1965 and is now home to a US airbase.<\/p>\n
The Foreign Office said it would be an “inappropriate” use of the ICJ.<\/p>\n
“This is a disappointing outcome,” a Foreign Office spokesman said: “Sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory is clearly a matter for the UK and Mauritius to resolve ourselves.<\/p>\n
“Taking this dispute to the International Court of Justice is an inappropriate use of the
\nICJ mechanism.”<\/p>\n
Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968, argues that the UK broke international law when it separated off the islands before granting Mauritius its independence.<\/p>\n
{{‘Embarrassing defeat’}}<\/p>\n
Diego Garcia, the largest of the group of islands, was leased to the US in 1966.<\/p>\n
Families were forced to leave the Chagos Islands in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for a US Air Force base on Diego Garcia, which is leased until 2036.<\/p>\n
The Foreign Office said it did not recognise Mauritius’s claim to sovereignty over the islands – but that it would return the islands when they were no longer needed for defence.<\/p>\n
“We have committed to cede them to Mauritius when the territory is no longer required for defence purposes,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
“At present it plays an important role in regional and global security, helping to keep the UK, US and other allies, including Mauritius, safe.”<\/p>\n
The government said it would “robustly defend” its position ahead of the ICJ’s decision, which would not be legally binding.<\/p>\n
Most EU countries abstained from the vote, which BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale described as an “embarrassing diplomatic defeat” for the UK.<\/p>\n
He said it signalled that Britain’s diplomatic clout had waned after the vote for Brexit.<\/p>\n
In 2015, the UK Supreme Court denied a legal challenge by former islanders to return to Chagos after being removed more than 40 years ago.<\/p>\n
The court rejected claims that islanders suffered a “significant injustice” by being forcibly removed from their homeland.<\/p>\n
Source:BBC <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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