Today, Argentina presented before the International Court of Justice its position with regard to the proceedings requesting an Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the Separation of Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, in the public hearings taking place at The Hague, The Netherlands. The advisory opinion was requested by the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 71/292 adopted in June 2017, which Argentina sponsored and voted in favour of.
Chagos Archipelago was part of the British crown colony Mauritius. In 1965, three years before Mauritius became independent, the United Kingdom decided to detach the Chagos Archipelago and leased it to the United States for the establishment of a military base, which is still operational. Population from the Archipelago was deported and to this day has not been allowed to return.
Participation in the proceedings gives Argentina an opportunity to present its position in relation to common principles and themes which are also relevant to the Question of the Malvinas Islands and, if accepted, could influence the Advisory Opinion to be delivered by the Court.
The Legal Counsellor of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Mario Oyarzabal, and Marcelo Kohen, an Argentine professor and specialist on international law, represented Argentina.
The main points of the Argentine written and oral statements were the following:
- It is incumbent upon the General Assembly to establish how and when a non-self-governing territory was decolonized;
- The territory of a colony has a legal status separate and distinct from that of the territory of the State administering it;
- Resolution 1514 (XV) of the United Nations General Assembly declares existing international law rights, especially in relation to the principles of self-determination and respect for the territorial integrity of all peoples.
- Respect for territorial integrity is applicable to States and peoples whose right to self-determination has been recognized in accordance with applicable General Assembly resolutions;
- Administering powers do not have the right to adopt unilateral measures which change the status of the non-self-governing territory or to dispose of it for their own benefit.
Within this context, Argentina held that the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not legally completed since its territorial integrity was violated. It further noted that the population of Chagos, who are part of the Mauritan people, were expelled from their homes and deported, in addition to not being allowed to return since then, which is not consistent with international law.
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN and its opinion has significant political and legal value.
Argentina made its first written statement for the proceedings on 1 March 2018 and answered comments from other countries on 15 May.
Other participants include, in addition to Mauritius and the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Belize, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, China, the Republic of Korea, Cuba, Djibouti, the United States, France, Guatemala, India, Marshall Islands, Israel, Kenya, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Seychelles, South Africa, Thailand, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Zambia and the African Union.
Oral statements of the Argentine Republic are available at: http://www.icj-cij.org/en/multimedia/5b8ce181a12d880415cfb4f7 , together with the written statements made by Argentina on March and May 2018.
Press Release No. 352/18
