March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
31
News Every Day |

Why Britain's Claim to the Chagos Islands Undermines International Law

[By Samuel Bashfield and Elena Katselli Proukaki]  

Various contributors to the Chagos Question debate assert that Britain’s controversial claim to the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory – BIOT) violates the rules-based order. And by extension, Australian and American support for London’s colonial-era sovereignty pretension further undermines this already fragile Indo-Pacific order.

Contributors to this debate, including David Brewster, Benjamin Herscovitch, Blake Herzinger, Bec Strating and Peter Harris are correct. These three AUKUS allies cannot advance and champion a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific while simultaneously perpetuating egregious violations of their own virtuous liberal order.

But specifically, how does Britain’s occupation of the Chagos (including Diego Garcia) undermine the rules-based order? And what does Britain’s steadfast claim to this disputed territory mean for the future of this Indo-Pacific order?

According to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Britain furthers its interests by “working in partnership with others and supporting an international system based on rules, norms, and values”. This Western-led rules-based order, developed and led by the United States post-Second World War, is now considered under strain due to both the rise of China and also the spread of nationalistic populism.

The rules-based order is characterised by various factors including a liberal democratic polity and economy; free movement of goods and capital; human equality, freedom, rule of law and human rights; multilateralism, including pooling and delegating authority; and collective security.

International law, encompassing rule of law and human rights, is a central pillar of the rules-based order concept. International society cannot be “rules-based” without international law.

Britain’s Chagos policy violates international law and the rules-based order in three respects.

The first pertains to self-determination, both for the Chagossians and for Mauritius. This core international law concept stipulates that territorial changes can only proceed with the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned. We find that Britain twice violated the principle of self-determination.

As well as being the descendants of African slaves – slavery being one of the gravest violations of contemporary international law – the Chagossians also continue to be discriminated against through denial of their identity as a group as well as their right to return to their homeland. To this effect, the Chagossians’ right to exercise self-determination – and through this their ability to return to the land from which they were forcibly removed as well as to exercise all the other rights that self-determination gives rise to under international law – has been denied.

The Chagos Archipelago was historically administered as part of the Colony of Mauritius. Its separation in 1965 was in violation of the customary international law that pertained at the time. This law had crystalised the territorial integrity of non-self-governing territories as a key element of the exercise of the right to self-determination. It follows from this that the Chagos Archipelago shouldn’t have been separated from Mauritius at the time of its Cold War-era independence. It is this principle of respecting the territorial integrity of former colonies that the United Kingdom violated in establishing BIOT, demonstrating disregard for one of the most fundamental tenets of the rules-based order and of international law as established post-1945.

The second way in which Britain’s Chagos policy violates international law relates to (ongoing) forcible displacement of the Chagossians. The Rome Statute, to which the United Kingdom is a party, prohibits forced displacement as both a war crime and a crime against humanity, violation of which gives rise to individual criminal responsibility. While the Rome Statute came into force in 2002, decades after the coercive expulsion of the Chagossians in the 1960s and 1970s, the prohibition of forced displacement was already well established under international law at the time.

Importantly, forced displacement through prevention from return is an international crime of a continuing character. The circumstances of the Chagossians’ expulsions, and the fact that they were carried out in violation of international law, are determining factors in the Chagossians’ continuing struggle for resettlement and return.

Third is Britain’s disregard for international (legal) mechanisms, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and international treaties. While ICJ opinions are not legally binding, these decisions encompass the expert judgement of the ICJ on the applicable law. In 2019, the ICJ found Britain’s occupation of the Chagos Islands illegal. Despite the United Nations General Assembly follow up resolution giving London six months to withdraw its administration of the Chagos, Britain’s refusal demonstrates its unwillingness to have foreign policy choices constrained by international institutions and international norms, as per the rules-based order concept.

For Britain to satisfy its commitment to the rules-based order and international law, its only option is to dissolve BIOT and cede sovereignty of the Chagos to Mauritius.

Relatedly, Britain refuses to extend many treaties to BIOT, creating a legal “grey hole” in the Indian Ocean. Research by Sand shows that the treaties not applicable in BIOT include, but are by no means limited to, the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 1984 Convention against Torture. Britain also controversially contends that The African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (Pelindaba) Treaty does not apply in BIOT.

Due to gains in relative advantage and power projection capabilities attained by selectively applying international treaty law to BIOT, the United Kingdom undermines its commitment to the rules-based order by not allowing multilateral institutions to constrain its foreign-policy choices for the aggregate benefit of all.

In sum, the implications of non-compliant behaviour are that it invites breaking the unitary rules-based order and creating several orders that apply different rules to different states. This will backfire, compromising the peaceful co-existence and cooperation of states, with detrimental consequences for the unity of the rules-based order that the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia advance.

For Britain to satisfy its commitment to the rules-based order and international law, its only option is to dissolve BIOT and cede sovereignty of the Chagos to Mauritius. Otherwise, this ugly episode of international affairs will continue to undermine the already fragile rules-based order, threatening its provision of public goods, including rule of international law.

This article is a condensed version of the 2022 Bashfield & Proukaki research article “The Rules-Based Order, International Law and the British Indian Ocean Territory: Do as I Say, Not as I Do”, published open-access in German Law Journal, Volume 23, Issue 5, June 2022. It appears here courtesy of the Lowy Interpreter and may be found in its original form here.

 

Москва

Москва готовится к ракетным ударам по аэродромам НАТО?

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye

Top 5 Websites to Watch FREE Movies - TV Shows (No Sign up!)

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Ria.city






Read also

Army chiefs overturn century-old ban on beards with backing from King Charles

Gogglebox star George Gilbey’s tragic last words before ‘falling 80ft through skylight onto concrete below’

Macron quips about cuddly 'wedding' pics with Lula

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!



Sports today


Новости тенниса
WTA

Александрова обыграла первую ракетку мира на турнире WTA



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Блиц-матч по шахматам между двумя командами провели в павильоне «Спорт для каждого»



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

«Радио Зенит» – информационный партнер форума «Мы вместе. Спорт»


Новости России

Game News

Для Wuthering Waves проходит предрегистрация в App Store и Google Play


Russian.city


Настроение

Строительство станции метро "Потапово"


Губернаторы России
Шапка

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)


Заказать недорогой ремонт шкафов купе в Москве и Московской области

Эксперт Ионова: Молочными продуктами можно заменить до 40 процентов рациона

«Домклик»: Средний размер первоначального взноса по ипотеке на Ставрополье — 37,2%

Песков: вето на работу экспертов по санкциям против КНДР было в наших интересах


Скульптура Сергея Рахманинова украсит музыкальную школу в Кисловодске

Баста, Валерия и "Любэ" исполнили песни Муслима Магомаева

Певица из Коми участвует в телеконкурсе "Звезда"

Певица Диана Арбенина призналась, что улетела из России ради матери


Российская теннисистка Калинская покинула WTA-1000 из-за проблем со здоровьем

Чесноков оценил шансы Александровой в борьбе за выход в финал турнира WTA в Майами

«Бомж» Дарья передает всем привет»: Касаткина ответила на слова Винер

Рыбакина о том, что не играла в Индиан-Уэллс из-за болезни: «К сожалению, восстановление заняло много времени»



Пассажир рейса Москва — Пермь попал в реанимацию

Архитектурные доминанты округов Москвы

«Радио Зенит» – информационный партнер форума «Мы вместе. Спорт»

Перенос дат II этапа культурного проекта «Классика: история и современность» в Дмитрове


Чемпионат по зимнему плаванию пройдет в Пскове

Шапки женские вязаные на Wildberries, 2024 — новый цвет от 392 руб. (модель 466)

Я – фартовая! Слушательница ENERGY отправилась в Мексику на выступление Джареда Лето

Путин отчитал Беглова за место Петербурга в туристическом рейтинге


В Москве стало меньше аварий с участием каршеринга

В Европе и США выходной, рубль слабеет

Движение временно ограничат на двух улицах Нижегородского и Гагаринского районов

Советский госдеятель Лаврентий Берия родился 125 лет назад



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Певица

Певица Mia Boyka призналась, что в детстве ходила в церковь почти каждый день



News Every Day

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости