Written question asked by Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench) on Monday, 22 July 2019, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 August 2019. It was answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on Tuesday, 30 July 2019 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
- Question
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To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cancellation of the High Commissioner to Mauritius' annual party to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's official birthday on reaching a settlement on the issues arising from the UN General Assembly resolution 73/295 Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 of 22 May which demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months from adoption of the present resolution."
- Answer
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Queen's Birthday Parties are a celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday. They are an opportunity to celebrate the relationships between the UK and other countries.
Coming so soon after the unjustified and incendiary remarks made about the UK by the Mauritian Prime Minister at the United Nations General Assembly, it would not have been appropriate to have held one this year. A decision to cancel Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Party was taken at Ministerial level.
We have no doubt about our sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. We have made a long-standing commitment to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- HL17361
- Session
- 2017-19
- Grouped for answer
- Yes
- Subjects
- Anniversaries British Indian Ocean Territory Mauritius Sovereignty Diplomatic relations Elizabeth II, Queen
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2019-07-30 16:45:00 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2017-19/HL17361
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2017-19/HL17361
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/lords/2017-19/HL17361