UN demands UK withdrawing colonial administration from Chagos Archipelago

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, May 23, 2019
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UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution demanding that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland withdraw its "colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months".

Chagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, was hived off Mauritius in the run-up to independence in 1965. The Britain has retained possession of the islands ever since, while Mauritius has continued to claim its sovereignty over them.

The International Court of Justice, also the principal judicial organ of the UN, in February handed Mauritius a victory when it said in a legal opinion that Britain had illegally split the islands and should give up control of them.

The resolution on Wednesday, which received 116 votes in favor, demands that Britain withdraw its colonial administration, thus enabling Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory "as rapidly as possible".

UN also urged Britain to cooperate with Mauritius "in facilitating the resettlement of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, in the Chagos Archipelago, and to pose no impediment or obstacle to such resettlement".

Since the decolonization of Mauritius was not conducted in a manner consistent with the right of peoples to self-determination, it follows that the continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago by Britain constitutes a wrongful act entailing the international responsibility of that State, said the resolution. Enditem

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