Why are the Chagos Islands important?
The Chagos was home to the Chagossians, a Bourbonnais Creole-speaking people, until the United Kingdom evicted them between 1967 and 1973 to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia. When Mauritius was a French colony, the Chagos Islands were administered as a dependency of Mauritius.
Why does the United Kingdom want to keep the Chagos Archipelago?
According to Mauritius, the proposal to separate the Chagos Archipelago stemmed from a decision by the United Kingdom in the early 1960s to “accommodate the United States’ desire to use certain islands in the Indian Ocean for defence purposes.”
Who owns Chagos Archipelago?
Later that year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognising that “the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius” and urged UN agencies “to support the decolonisation of Mauritius”. The British Foreign Office said it was “disappointed” by Tuesday’s vote.
What is Diego Garcia used for today?
Today Diego Garcia is home to 15 separate commands, including the U.S. Navy Support Facility, which functions as the host command. The island stretches about 38 miles tip to tip and has an average elevation of four feet above sea level with a maximum elevation of 22 feet.
What are the activities carried out in the archipelago?
Other activities. Geocaching: Geocaches can be found in amazing locations in the Archipelago Sea area. When searching for caches, please observe protection of nesting birds. Skiing: Skiing on the sea ice in the winter silence of the national park is at your own risk.
What happened Chagos island?
Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius and the United Kingdom after being evicted by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s so that Diego Garcia, the island where most Chagossians lived, could serve as the location for a United States military base. Chagossian people living in the UK speak English.
Why is there a dispute over Chagos Archipelago?
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion in which it determined that the decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed with the separation of the Chagos Archipelago and that the United Kingdom was obliged to end its administration of the islands as rapidly as possible.
Who does Chagos belong to?
The UK retained possession of the Chagos archipelago after Mauritius gained independence in 1968, in effective paying Mauritius more than £4m for the islands.
Where is tromelin?
Indian Ocean
Tromelin Island (/ˌtroʊmlɪn/; French: Île Tromelin, pronounced [il tʁɔmlɛ̃]) is a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about 500 km (310 mi) north of Réunion and about 450 km (280 mi) east of Madagascar.
Who lives on Chagos Islands?
The Chagossians (also Îlois or Chagos Islanders) are a currently exiled Creole ethnic group native to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego Garcia, Peros Banhos, and the Salomon island chain, as well as other parts of the Chagos Archipelago, from the late 18th century until the middle of 20th century.
Is there Internet on Diego Garcia?
Sure Diego Garcia provides international telephone services, broadband internet and WiFi,4G and GSM mobile and paging services. We also provide telephone and internet services to maritime customers as well as an extensive portfolio of services to business and Government customers.
Where are the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean?
The Chagos Archipelago (/ ˈtʃɑːɡəs, – ɡoʊs /) or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archipelago.
What was the economy of the Chagos Archipelago?
During this period, the economy of the Chagos Archipelago was primarily driven by the coconut plantations and the export of copra (dried coconut flesh) for the production of oil, although other activities developed as the population of the Archipelago expanded.
Is the UK still in control of the Chagos Islands?
In 2021, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea confirmed that the United Kingdom has “no sovereignty over the Chagos Islands” and that the islands should be handed back to Mauritius. In August 2021, United postal union (UPU) banned British stamps to be used in BIOT. This section needs additional citations for verification.
How did the UN resolution affect the Chagos Islands?
The resolution’s immediate consequence is that the UN and other international organisations are now bound by UN law to support the decolonisation of the Chagos Islands. The United Kingdom claims that it has no doubt about its sovereignty over the archipelago.