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1141178

registered interest
date	22/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cancellation of the High Commissioner to Mauritius' annual party to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's official birthday on reaching a settlement on the issues arising from the UN General Assembly 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 of 22 May which demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months from adoption of the present resolution."
tabling member printed	Lord Ramsbotham
uin	HL17361
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2019 answer text <p>Queen's Birthday Parties are a celebration of Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday. They are an opportunity to celebrate the relationships between the UK and other countries.</p><p>Coming so soon after the unjustified and incendiary remarks made about the UK by the Mauritian Prime Minister at the United Nations General Assembly, it would not have been appropriate to have held one this year. A decision to cancel Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Party was taken at Ministerial level.</p><p>We have no doubt about our sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. We have made a long-standing commitment to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon grouped question UIN HL17362 question first answered 30/07/2019 15:03:07 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3744 label Biography information for Lord Ramsbotham

1139005

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State in Westminster Hall on 3 July, column 584WH, if he will provide a reference to the section of the award of March 2015 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Tribunal which concluded that the Agreement in 1965 to the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago was legally binding.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
tabling member printed	Patrick Grady
uin	277209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Section 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award (18 March 2015) considers this issue in detail and makes the relevant conclusions.</p> answering member constituency South West Wiltshire answering member printed Dr Andrew Murrison question first answered 23/07/2019 15:20:25 answering member 1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison
tabling member	4432 label Biography information for Patrick Grady

1137086

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision of the United Nations General Assembly that the decolonisation of Mauritius has not been lawfully completed because the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people of Mauritius; whether they accept that decision; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
uin	HL16950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>It is disappointing that Mauritius’ claim that the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is part of Mauritius, which we strongly refute, should have been referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by the UN General Assembly. It is an accepted international principle that States should not be compelled to have their bilateral disputes adjudicated upon by the ICJ without their consent. Circumventing this principle sets a dangerous precedent. BIOT has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. No international court or tribunal has ever found UK sovereignty to be in doubt. Mauritius agreed to the detachment of the islands in 1965, in return for certain benefits including a UK commitment, which we stand by, to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. Mauritius affirmed that agreement numerous times following independence, and in March 2015 a United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal ruled the agreement to be internationally binding.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 18/07/2019 14:46:48 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

1136508

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN General Assembly Resolution of 22 May 2019 on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, if he will support the Chagos Refugees Group and Mauritian Government in arranging a visit to the Chagos Archipelago for UK-based Chagossians after the six month time period set out in that Resolution.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	272901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>We were disappointed that this matter was referred to the International Court of Justice, contrary to the principle that the Court should not consider bilateral disputes without the consent of both States concerned. We have no doubt about our sovereignty over BIOT, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814.</p><p>We are aware of the Mauritian Government's proposal to organise a visit to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). We urge Mauritius to reconsider. Any unauthorised visit to BIOT will be treated with the utmost seriousness. The UK Government, as the sovereign authority, will continue to progress an expanded programme of UK-arranged visits to the British Indian Ocean Territory for Chagossians: five visits have taken place so far with 76 Chagossians each spending a week visiting the Territory. Two to three visits are planned to take place each year for the remainder of the life of the support package. Visits are advertised to Chagossian communities in UK, Mauritius and Seychelles. Any eligible Chagossian or Chagossian group seeking to visit BIOT is welcome to do so through this programme.</p> answering member constituency Rutland and Melton answering member printed Sir Alan Duncan question first answered 09/07/2019 16:12:54 answering member 343 label Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1132633

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to reach an agreement with the government of Mauritius over the future of the Chagos Archipelago; and what consideration they have given to appointing an independent panel to lead exploratory negotiations about any such agreement.
tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
uin	HL16411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>​We remain disappointed that this matter was referred to the International Court of Justice and the UN General Assembly. We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. The UK values its long standing relationship with Mauritius and is keen to continue to engage productively on this issue.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie question first answered 01/07/2019 16:03:07 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham