Today the Government’s highly controversial Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill has its first day of Committee Stage in the House of Lords. The Bill plays a critical role in facilitating the UK Government’s proposal to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to the Republic of Mauritius, not least because the treaty provisions for this change cannot be ratified unless or until after the Bill becomes law. The Bill arises from the fact that in 1965 the UK divided the British colony that had previously covered both Mauritius and the Chagos Islands, ahead of decolonising Mauritius … Continue reading Self-Determination – The Gilbert and Ellice Islands Precedent and what it means for the United Kingdom and the Chagossian people today