A ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in 2023 strengthened Mauritius’s claims to the Chagos Islands.
It did so by endorsing an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019.
The ICJ dominated that Britain’s 1965 separation of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius was illegal and acknowledged the UK should finish its administration as quickly as doable.
While non-binding, the advisory opinion carries authorized weight and prompted the UN General Assembly to demand the archipelago’s return to Mauritius in a near-unanimous vote in 2019.
Muizzu’s workplace mentioned the Maldives was reviewing these authorized judgements.
“The government of the Maldives maintains the firm position that, by virtue of historical and geographical proximity, it holds a prior claim to sovereign rights over the Chagos Archipelago over any other state,” the assertion mentioned.
“Accordingly, if sovereignty is to be vested in any nation, it must rightfully be the Maldives.”
The assertion mentioned the Maldives authorities would “pursue all available avenues for a formal submission” to the ICJ and continued to “assess all lawful means to uphold the national interest”.
“We remain hopeful that the United Kingdom, as a long-standing partner, will engage in meaningful dialogue to resolve this matter in a spirit of mutual respect and historical accuracy,” the assertion mentioned.
If the Maldives did file a authorized case, it would additional complicate the UK’s deal with Mauritius.
The deal has already been thrown into doubt by Trump, who mentioned “this land should not be taken away from the UK” in a Truth Social submit in February.
The feedback got here regardless of the US Department of State giving its official backing to the UK authorities’s plan.
Many Chagossians see the deal as a betrayal and wish to see the UK retain sovereignty over the islands to allow them to someday return to their homeland.
The Conservatives and Reform UK are staunchly against the deal as nicely.
