This book offers a detailed account of the legal issues concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Islands) by leading experts in the field. It examines the broader significance of the ongoing Bancoult litigation in the UK Courts, the Chagos Islanders' petition to the European Court of Human Rights and Mauritius' successful challenge, under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, to the UK government's creation of a Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Archipelago. This book, produced in response to the 50th anniversary of the BIOT's founding, also assesses the impact of the decisions taken in respect of the Territory against a wider background of decolonization while addressing important questions about the lawfulness of maintaining Overseas Territories in the post-colonial era.The chapter ‘Anachronistic As Colonial Remnants May Be...’ - Locating the Rights of the Chagos Islanders As A Case Study of the Operation of Human Rights Law in Colonial Territories is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com.

For over two centuries, the Ilois people had inhabited the beautiful islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They lived a simple, largely self-sufficient, life as fishermen and farmers, occasionally visiting Mauritius and other islands. Although the islands were administered by the British government the politics of colonialism were remote from the daily lives of the Ilois people. In the 1950s the British Colonial Office described the people of the islands as living ‘in surroundings of wonderful natural beauty and in conditions most tranquil and benign’. In 1966 all this changed. Although the other islands in the British Indian Ocean Territories were granted independence, Diego Garcia was not included. Instead it was leased to the US as a military base. The Ilois were evacuated and transported to Mauritius where they were left to live – and die – in the slums of Port Louis without food, money, housing or compensation. Most suffered severely, including some who died of hunger. Today Diego Garcia is the largest US military base in the Indian Ocean and the Ilois are not allowed to return – either to live or visit. For over two centuries, the Ilois people had inhabited the beautiful islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They lived a simple, largely self-sufficient, life as fishermen and farmers, occasionally visiting Mauritius and other islands. Although the islands were administered by the British government the politics of colonialism were remote from the daily lives of the Ilois people. In the 1950s the British Colonial Office described the people of the islands as living ‘in surroundings of wonderful natural beauty and in conditions most tranquil and benign’. In 1966 all this changed. Although the other islands in the British Indian Ocean Territories were granted independence, Diego Garcia was not included. Instead it was leased to the US as a military base. The Ilois were evacuated and transported to Mauritius where they were left to live – and die – in the slums of Port Louis without food, money, housing or compensation. Most suffered severely, including some who died of hunger. Today Diego Garcia is the largest US military base in the Indian Ocean and the Ilois are not allowed to return – either to live or visit. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

The British Indian Ocean Territory. The History, Environment and the other Truth. Is one of the most remote places on Earth. It is located mid-way between Indonesia and Tanzania and the BIOT's closest neighbor is The Maldives to its north. The Territory is comprised of seven atolls known as the Chagos Archipelago with more than 1,000 small islands. These islands are mostly coralline structures formed by underwater volcanos. The largest island, which is also the most southerly, is Diego Garcia and is used as an American military base. The Chagos Archipelago was originally chartered by Vasco de Gama in the 1500s, but wasn't colonized until the eighteenth century when the French claimed the archipelago as a part of Mauritius. The islands were settled by African slaves and Indian contractors who worked on the coconut plantations. In 1810, Mauritius became a colony of the United Kingdom and in 1965, the United Kingdom split Mauritius and the Seychelles to make the British Indian Ocean Territory. This strange decision was fueled by the creation of an American military base. The islands from the Seychelles were later returned to the jurisdiction of that country after it gained independence in 1976.

This book examines the history and contemporary living conditions of Chagossians who were evicted from the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean to make way for a strategic U.S. military base. Initially part of colonial Mauritius, Chagos was integrated into a new colony named the British Indian Ocean Territory in 1965. In 1966, Great Britain transferred control of Diego Garcia, the largest Chagos island, to the Americans under a fifty year lease. The expulsions which followed were designed to satisfy the U.S. demand for an unpopulated territory. The Chagossians were thus forced to resettle in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where livelihoods are poor and marginalized. The Chagossians are currently engaged in a campaign seeking right of return to the archipelago and recognition as a people forced to live in diaspora.

Reflections on the ICJ's Chagos Advisory Opinion and its broader context: British colonialism, US military interests, and human rights violations.

David Vine recounts how the British & US governments created the Diego Garcia base, making the native Chagossians homeless in the process. He details the strategic significance of this remote location & also describes recent efforts by the exiles to regain their territory.