LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF
THE SEPARATION OF CHAGOS FROM MAURITIUS IN 1965
(REQUEST FOR ADVISORY OPINION)
Written comment of the Argentine Republic in relation to the reply by the Republic of
Mauritius to the question put by Judge Gaja
In view of the possibility given by the Court to participants to the oral proceedings,
Argentina presents the following wrillen comment in relation to the reply by the Republic
of Mauritius to the question put by Judge Gaja at the end of the hearing on 3 September
2018 in the morning.
The question was as follows: "In the process of decolonization relating to the Chagos
Archipelago, what is the relevance of the will of the population of Chagossian origin?"
Argentina agrees with Mauritius that the Chagos Archipelago, having been considered by
the United Nations General Assembly as an integral part of the territory of the Non-SelfGoverning
Territory of Mauritius, "the process of decolonization relating to [it]" is part and
parcel of the process of decolonization of Mauritius.
Argentina also agrees that the "will of the population of Chagossian origin" must be
considered not for the determination of the status of the Chagos Archipelago, but in relation
to the question of their deportation and the consequences thereof, particularly the question
of its resettlement in the territory from which the population was expelled. In its resolution
2066 (XX}, the General Assembly recognized the right of the Mauritian people to
independence and did not recognized the existence of a "Chagossian people", separate and
distinct from the Mauritian people. On the contrary, the said resolution warned the
administering Power against the separation of some islands (in obvious reference to the
Chagos Archipelago) as being contrary to the territorial integrity of Mauritius.
Argentina further agrees that the resettlement is a matter of free choice to be decided on an
individual basis by each person of Chagossian origin.
Written Comments of Argentina on the Written Reply of Mauritius to the question put by Judge Gaja at the end of the hearing held on 3 September 2018