PRESS RELEASE
Colonialism Reparation welcomes that the United Nations General Assembly has confirmed that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed giving the United Kingdom six months to withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally and requests that the United Kingdom present apologies and compensations for the deportation of the original inhabitants and the whole period of British colonial rule.
On May 22, 2019 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 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) introduced by Senegal on behalf of the Group of African States.
The General Assembly “welcomes the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 25 February 2019 on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965” and “demands that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months from the adoption of the present resolution, thereby enabling Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory as rapidly as possible”.
The General Assembly also “urges the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to cooperate with Mauritius in facilitating the resettlement of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, in the Chagos Archipelago, and to pose no impediment or obstacle to such resettlement” and “calls upon all Member States” , “the United Nations and all its specialized agencies” and “all other international, regional and intergovernmental organizations, including those established by treaty,” to “recognize that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius, to support the decolonization of Mauritius as rapidly as possible, and to refrain from impeding that process by recognizing, or giving effect to any measure taken by or on behalf of, the British Indian Ocean Territory”.
The resolution was adopted by 116 votes in favour, 6 against and 56 abstentions and was welcomed by Mauritius, the associations Groupe réfugiés Chagos and UK Chagos Support, India, the United Kingdom’s Leader of the Opposition and also by Madagascar, which could take a similar path for the Scattered Islands, Argentine, for Malvinas, and Cyprus, for Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
Colonialism Reparation welcomes that the United Nations General Assembly has confirmed that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed giving the United Kingdom six months to withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally and requests that the United Kingdom, besides returning the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius immediately, present apologies and compensations for the deportation of the original inhabitants and the whole period of British colonial rule.
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Colonialism Reparation is part of the movement for the condemnation, the reconciliation, the apologies and the compensation for colonialism.
Colonialism Reparation promotes, supports and spreads non-violent activities aimed to create awareness of the current world situation and thereby to encourage the achievement of its objective
- that the colonizing nations condemn their colonial past recognizing it as a crime against humanity and that the colonized nations exert pressure to make it happen
- that the colonizing nations reconcile with their past, permanently distancing themselves from it by officially apologizing the colonized nations
- that the colonizing nations compensate the colonized nations for the atrocities and abuses committed thus allowing an improvement in their socio-economic conditions.
The contribution of every person who recognizes the importance of this activity to the creation of a climate of friendship and cooperation between peoples is necessary and appreciated. This contribution will create an extremely positive precedent in international relations as well, promoting the supremacy of the “force of law” on the “law of force”.
