the Chagos ArchipelagoInhabitants of Chagos Archipelago forcibly evicted Following the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from the territory of Mauritius, the United Kingdom shamefully evicted all the inhabitants of the Archipelago, whe had been living there for decades. This took place in total disregard of their human rights. Most of the upreoted inhabitants were moved to the main sland of Mauritius, others were sent to the Seychelles. Since then, the former inhabitants ‘of the Chagos Archipelago have been unable to return to their place of birth, becaise of the continued unlawful administration of the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom. Struggle of Mauritius to complete its decolonization process Efforts by Mauritius ever since independence to complete its Gecolorisation so that it can ‘effectively and fully exercise its sovereignty over its entire territory, including the Chagos Archipelago, have been unsuccessful in spite of calls from various international bodies, including the African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement. In 2010, the United Kingdom purported to set up 4 no take ‘marine protected area’ MPA’) in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago, The ‘MPA’ has been declared iegal by an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex Vil to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Nothing has changed so far, Request for ICJ Advisory Opinion On 22 June 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by a resounding majority Resolution 71/292 ta request the International Gourt of Justice (IC) to give an Advisory Opinion ‘on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, Decolonisation of Mauritius incomplete In its Advisory Opinion of 25 February 2019, the ICJ found that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawiully completed upon its accession to independence in 1968, in view of ihe unlawful excision of the Chagas Archipelago fram the territory of Mauritius. The ICJ also concluded that the United Kingdom. is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible and that all Member States are under en obligation to cooperate with ‘the United Nations in order to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius. ‘On 22 May 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority of 116 votes lo 6, Resolution 73/295 entitled "Advisory opinion of the international Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965". This Resolution, inter alia, explicitly affirms, jin accordance with the above-mentioned Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, that the excisionof the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom from the territory of Mauritius in 1965 was in breach of international law and that the continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago by the UK is a wrongful act of a continuing character under intemational law. The Resolution therefore demands that the UK withdraw its unlawful administration unconditionally within a period ‘of no more than 6 months from the date of adoption of the resolution and urges Member States as well as specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations to cooperate with the UN to ensure the compilation of the decolonisation of Mauritius. ‘The resolution also urges the United Kingdom “to cooperate with Mauritius in facilitating the | resattlement of Mauritian nationals, including ‘of Chagossian origin, in the Chagos ipelago, and to pose no impediment or Gie to such resettlement. (8 a matter of deep disappointment and great sadness that the UK, a country with which Mauritius has excellent relations, and which promotes adherence to the rule of law in international relations, has not yat made a commitment to the immediate implementation of the ICJ's Advisory Opinion and to the resolution adopted by the GeneralAssambly. From words to action The full sovereignty of a nation has no price, it cannot be sold, it cannot be mortgaged. The struggle for the complete decolonisation of Mauritius is a matter of concern not anly to the ‘Government of Mauritius and its population, it is & matter that should seize the attention of every soul under the sun. We have achieved so much. Now, It is time to put words into action, In its endeavour to support this long struggie, Air Mauritius has deemed It opportune to name one of its new aircrafts of the A330-900 Neo series “Chagos Archipelago” in order to pay tribute to those at the forefront of this ‘struggle for their achievements so far and to ‘the Mauritians of Chagossian. origin wha are still waiting for the day on which they will be able to exercise thelr right to return to their home islands. Air Mauritius joins the call for support to this national cause for the republic of Mauritius. The Ministry of Defence and Rodrigues