Statement by Chagos Refugees Group following the decision of the Supreme Court of the UK dated 8th February 2018
Today our Chairman Olivier Bancoult and a substantial delegation of Chagossians attended the UK Supreme Court to hear judgement by the seven Justices of the Court concerning the challenge to thelawfulness of the Marine Protection Area in Chagos Island waters.
We were surprised to hear that the findings of the International Maritime Tribunal concerning the same MPA, based on evidence not available to the UK courts, was not sufficient to convince the Justicesabout the unlawfulness of the UK Government’s consultation process.
We are disappointed that this victory for Mauritius, and the Tribunal’s findings that the UK was well aware of her own formal undertakings to preserve Mauritian fishing rights, remain insufficient to moveUK’s highest court.
We welcome the decision made unanimously by all Justices that the High Court (in
2013) was wrong to deny the admissibility of the Wikileaks cable in which a UK official was clearly recorded declaring that there would be “No Man Fridays” on the Chagos Islands if the MPA went ahead.That means that Chagossians were prevented by the lower court from asserting what was obvious from the face of this cable, that the ulterior motive for the MPA was to prevent our resettlement.
Of the three judgments that deal with the effect of the High Court’s refusal to admit the cable, two decided that this was unfair and the officials quoted in the cable should have to answer to them in afurther hearing. But one judgment decided the cable “would make no difference” to the officials’ highly contentious evidence that marine conservation was the true purpose of the MPA. We welcome thecommon sense of the two judgments by Lord Kerr and Lady Hale, who were unfortunately in the minority, since some of the other justices who did not give any reasons of their own agreed with the singleadverse judgment.
The extraordinary actions of the UK have once more forced our fragile population to go through all the Courts of the UK, to establish some simple facts. These actions have cast serious doubt on thehonesty and integrity of past ministers and officials. The historical record now is sullied by the following facts of history, discovered as a result of our legal challenges:
- 1.In 1965, the UK misled the United Nations about the permanence of our
Chagossian population, and proceeded to deport us from our homeland.
- 2.Although accepted by the pre-independence councils of Mauritius and Seychelles, we were dumped by the UK Government, without homes or job We and lived in abject poverty, and sufferedwidespread malnutrition, ill-health and suicide.
- 3.After ten years of suffering, and the early death of many, some compensation was made which was barely enough to pay off debts incurred. When the last
Rs 600 was distributed, we were given forms to thumbprint which we believed to be receipts, but which turned out to be legalistic renunciation forms in English which no-one understood and whichwere not translated to us.
- 4.When the UK court decided in 2000 that we had been illegally deported, the Home Secretary announced that he accepted the decision, and set up a study directed to our return to Chago But in2004, relying some doubtful claims in study, the UK suddenly reversed the Court’s decision and banned us from returning.
- 5.During our challenge to that decision, the UK did not produce the file on the study and claimed, wrongly, that it was lost. But it was found 7 years after we had asked for it and 4 years after theHouse of Lords dismissed our challenge to the study and the ban. When eventually disclosed, it showed influence from officials, false science and unqualified reviewers
- 6.When we were given access to that file we pointed out the errors in it, and the UK decided to run another study. That study, by KPMG decided in 2015 that resettlement was perfectly feasible,that the USA had no objection, and we pointed out that the cost could be halved by reliance on the expertise of Mauritius and Seychelles who have experience in the region. Also the EuropeanDevelopment Fund and other sources were available to provide matched funding.
- 7.On 16 November 2016, the UK Government decided that they would continue to block our return, despite the advice in the KPMG report, the desire of Mauritius that we should return, and theoverwhelming desire of Chagossians to be restored to our homeland islands. We are now forced once more to use the courts of law, in the hope that at last the UK judges can see the continuingprejudice which we suffer, and make our return possible.
- 8.Our challenge to the Government’s decision not to resettle the Chagos Islands and refusal to restore the Chagossians’ Right of Abode will be heard in the English High Court in May 2018, wherewe hope that the UK’s decision to continue to exclude us from our homeland will be overturned.
In view of these consistent acts of extraordinary prejudice to ourculture and way of life, we will be fully supporting te role of Mauritius at the International Court of Justice, and believe that theInternational Community may once more support our rights and put an end to our exile.
OLIVIER BANCOULT, Chair, Chagos Refugees Group.
8TH February 2018
Posted by Minority Voice
on Feb 8 2018. Filed under Actualités, En Direct, Featured.
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