ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has urged the United Kingdom to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago "as quickly as possible" and return the archipelago to Mauritius.

The AU chairperson, in a statement issued late Tuesday, stressed that "the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence in 1968, following the separation of the Chagos Archipelago."

The chairperson "urges the United Kingdom to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as quickly as possible," the statement read.

Faki further called on "all AU partners to support these efforts, including by emphasizing the imperative for the scrupulous respect of international legality, as reaffirmed by the ICJ in its Advisory Opinion."

Faki made the remarks following the "historic" advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

According to the AU, the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, "forms an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius and that the decolonization of Mauritius will not be complete until it is able to exercise its full sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago."

The advisory opinion, which was delivered on Monday by the ICJ, was made in response to a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in June 2017, at the initiative of the African Group in New York, according to the AU.

Faki also said that the UK "is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible."

The 55-member pan African bloc also stressed that "all member states are under an obligation to cooperation with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonization of Mauritius. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)