Draft law to ‘end fog of uncertainty’ over Chagos Islands rejected by UK Government

A draft law which aims to “end the fog of uncertainty” over the Chagos Islands has been rejected by the UK Government.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer Lord Weir of Ballyholme urged the UK Government to “put Chagossians first” and enshrine the right to their self-determination in law as he presented his private member’s bill.

The British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday, aims to provide an alternative path for Government to take with regard to the British Indian Ocean territory.

However, Foreign Office minister Baroness Winterton of Doncaster said the Bill’s provisions are contrary to the national security of the UK.

It comes after the UK signed a treaty in May last year to cede control of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius in exchange for securing the continued operation of a joint US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

The UK agreed to pay Mauritius £165 million a year in the first three years of a 99-year deal, dropping to £120 million annually from year four.

However, US President Donald Trump has described it as a “terrible deal” and the progress of legislation that would give effect to the treaty was paused in April, with the Government saying it could not go ahead without American support.

Lord Weir told peers that the issue has been left “in a form of limbo” since then, with ministers saying they are working with Mauritius and the US to come to a solution.

He added that that Chagossian people, who were evicted from the Chagos islands in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the UK-US military base, should have the right to return to the islands and vote in a referendum on any future deal.

The DUP peer noted that the Government has not retreated from its position laid out in its treaty with Mauritius, but has also halted progress on putting it into the UK’s domestic law.

He said this has put the Chagossians in “political purgatory” and argued that they deserve “certainty and control for the future”.

Speaking at second reading, Lord Weir said: “The purpose of this Bill is to cut through the fog of uncertainty which now hangs over the Chagos Islands, to provide a fairer, clearer, a more principled way forward, not simply for the Chagos Islands themselves, but perhaps more importantly to the Chagossians.”

He criticised the Government’s delay, saying it “handed over British sovereign territory, which had been British for over 200 years, to a government which had never held control or ownership of the islands”.

“And indeed simply did not give away the Chagos Islands, but presented them with a large dowry of a very handsome reward for Mauritius for taking them effectively off our hands, without even for the Chagossians the compensatory automatic right of resettlement,” he added.

Instead, his draft legislation would offer a so-called “triple lock on sovereignty”, meaning that before a transfer of sovereignty or leasing out of the Chagos Islands could take place three hurdles would have to be overcome.

“First of all, it would have to be done by way of Act of Parliament,” he said.

“Secondly, if there is a representative government of the Chagossian people, it would have to have their approval.

“And, most crucially of all, in enshrining the principle of self-determination of the Chagossian people, it would have to be approved by a referendum of the Chagossian people.”

The Bill also states that, whatever rulings may happen in the future, the base on Diego Garcia will remain sovereign British territory.

It would also enshrine in law the rights of the Chagossian people to resettle on Ile du Coin and Ile Boddam.

Lord Weir said: “I think it’s time the Government faced up to reality, stopped flogging effectively a dead horse and actually pursued a positive alternative course of action.”

Responding, Foreign Office minister Lady Winterton insisted that the Government needs to secure a deal to ensure continued use of the base on Diego Garcia.

She said that the base has been “operating at increasing risk for decades”, adding: “UK sovereignty has been challenged and international courts have already made decisions which undermine our position.”

The minister told peers: “There is no alternative where we just hang on to the base without an agreement.

“The previous Conservative government tried to do that under Boris Johnson, and when that failed they started the negotiations.

“I accept that there are those who argue ignore the legal challenges, but there is no question that we can do that.

“Doing nothing is simply not an option and threatens the UK safety.”

Lady Winterton told peers that the Government “deeply regrets the way Chagossians were removed from the islands”, adding: “We are committed to building a relationship with the Chagossian community that is based on respect and acknowledgement of past wrongdoings.”

However, she rejected the Bill’s call for a referendum.

She said: “The decision to enter into a treaty is a matter of national security and therefore we have to be very careful about how we approach that.

“That’s why, whilst rejecting a referendum, we have taken concrete steps to help the Chagossians, including protecting British citizenship rights, increasing UK support and negotiating a treaty which would enable Mauritius to develop a programme of resettlement.”