To,
Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth
The Prime Minister of Mauritius
Port Louis, Mauritius
Dear Honourable Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth,
Thank you for your previous engagements with Human Rights Watch on the plight of the Chagossians. As negotiations over the sovereignty of the Chagos islands continue, it is critical to center the rights of the Indigenous Chagossian people, including their meaningful participation, in the outcome of these negotiations and future governance of the islands, and immediately end the crimes against humanity which continue to be committed against them.
We therefore urge your governments that any agreement over the Chagos islands ensures an immediate end to the ongoing crimes against humanity against the Chagossian people as well as full reparations to all Chagossians, including ensuring that every Chagossian may return to live in their homeland, including Diego Gracia, and full compensation, all based on meaningful consultations with the Chagossian people.
Ongoing Colonial Crimes
As established in our recent report, Human Rights Watch found three ongoing crimes against humanity which have been committed against the Chagossian people:
1. The forced displacement of the entire Chagossian people from every island of the archipelago by the US and UK.
2. The prevention of the Chagossians from returning to live in their homeland, including the island of Diego Garcia.
3. Persecution of the Chagossians on the grounds of race and ethnicity – shown in part by the different standards applied to other islanders living near military bases, such as in Cyprus and the Falkland Islands and the attempts to deny the application of international human rights law and criminal law in the Chagos islands.
Given that, states and individuals who have contributed to these crimes, including those who continue to contribute to preventing the return of Chagossians to live in their homeland, including on Diego Garcia, will share responsibility for crimes against humanity. This responsibility will include those who order, assist or instigate the crimes, including in or after any agreement. Responsibility will also include those who currently have, or obtain in the future, legal or factual control over the Chagos Islands or part of them and help prevent the return of the Chagossians.
Chagossian groups are not advocating for the closure of the military base on Diego Garcia but wish to return to live on the unoccupied islands and the unoccupied part of Diego Garcia.
In addition, continuing to deny the Chagossians the protection of international human rights law and international criminal law by denying its application to the territory of Chagos - may contribute to the crime against humanity of persecution on the grounds of race.
Reparations
The UK and US inflicted harm on the Chagossian people and they owe them reparations under international law. These standards (as set out, for example, in the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation), include three key elements.
First, ensuring that every Chagossian, of every generation and citizenship, may return to live, in dignity, in all the Chagos islands, including Diego Garcia. This means the UK should lift every legal barrier immediately, and the US should publicly declare its supports for the return of Chagossians, including to Diego Garcia. Mauritius should also publicly guarantee this right for every Chagossian, regardless of citizenship. As part of restitution, the UK and US should restore the Chagos islands, so that the Chagossians can return to live permanently in dignity and prosperity, at a minimum standard equivalent to how they would live today had they not been expelled over 50 years ago.
The second element of reparations is full and adequate financial compensation to all Chagossians for all the harms caused to them since 1965.
The third element of reparations is satisfaction and guarantees that such crimes will not happen again. This includes, as Chagossians have requested, meaningful apologies, including from King Charles. The UK and US governments have ‘regretted’ the manner of the Chagossians’ removal. This is not enough. There also needs to be accountability for these crimes against humanity, like other crimes.
Like all reparations, all the above needs to be agreed and implemented by all the governments concerned through meaningful consultations with the Chagossians. The Chagossians are the Indigenous people of the Chagos islands and should be recognised as such. Their right to return, the restoration of their islands and the financial compensation need to be agreed and implemented with them.
We thank you for taking the above points into consideration during the negotiations, and remain available in case you need any further information on the matter.
Kind regards,
Allan Ngari, Human Rights Watch Africa Advocacy Director
