Written question asked by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 23 March 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 March 2015. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Thursday, 26 March 2015 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Chagossians: Resettlement

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will meet commitments made before the 2010 election to arrive at a just and fair settlement of the issue of the exile of the Chagos Islanders in the light of the award of 18 March by the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the case of Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration (Mauritius v. United Kingdom), and the conclusion by the KPMG report commissioned by the then Foreign Secretary that return by the islanders is feasible.

Answer: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 24 March on Progress in reviewing policy on resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), (HLWS440). In relation to the Arbitral Tribunal, it remains the case that there is no question about the UK’s sovereignty of BIOT and we have always maintained that the Marine Protected Area is not a bar to resettlement.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL5935
Session: 2014-15
Subjects: British Indian Ocean Territory Mauritius Chagossians UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Resettlement Marine protected areas
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk