Chagos Case: Great British PAC Condemns 'Imposed' Agreement Without Chagossians

The controversy surrounding the Chagos Archipelago has taken a new turn. In a statement released yesterday, the Great British PAC, an organization affiliated with the Conservative Party, strongly criticizes the announcement made by the British government. It accuses the government of ignoring warnings from the United Nations and bypassing the consent of those most affected: the Chagossians.

According to the organization, London made no mention of the decision from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which calls on the UK not to ratify the agreement until the free, prior, and informed consent of the Chagossians is guaranteed. Among other contentious points is the Chagossian Trust Fund, endowed with £40 million, which is considered insufficient and its mechanism described as opaque.

Presented by the UK government as a major advancement, this fund is labeled by the Great British PAC as merely a "symbolic concession." The organization claims that the seven members of the Trust would not be elected by all Chagossians but appointed by a select group, undermining the representativeness of the system.

Great British PAC further argues that the long-term payments to Mauritius would significantly exceed those allocated to the Chagossians. They cite a KPMG report indicating that these payments would surpass the costs of their resettlement.

Legally, the organization recalls that a Judicial Review process is still ongoing in the UK and believes that the recent intervention by the United Nations strengthens arguments challenging the legality and legitimacy of the government's approach.

Meanwhile, Mauritius contests the decision of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which calls for the treaty on the Chagos not to be ratified. In a letter to the committee's president, the Mauritian government argues that the emergency procedures invoked are unjustified, asserting that there is no repeated discrimination against the Chagossians.

Mauritius also claims that the decision does not demonstrate how the ratification of the treaty would create racial discrimination, reminding that according to the International Court of Justice, the right to self-determination for the Chagossians is exercised within the context of the entire Mauritian people.