Decision on Decolonization of Mauritius

DECISION ON DECOLONIZATION OF MAURITIUS

The Assembly,

1. RECALLS Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.812(XXXIV), adopted at the 34^th Ordinary Session held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2021 regarding the decolonization of Mauritius;

2. ALSO RECALLS the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 25 February 2019 on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, which has authoritatively determined that:

1. the Chagos Archipelago is, and has always formed, an integral part of the territory of Mauritius;

2. the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed upon its accession to independence in 1968 in view of the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius;

3. the United Kingdom’s continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act entailing the international responsibility of that State and is an unlawful act of a continuing character which arose as a result of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius;

4. the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible;

5. all Member States are under an obligation to cooperate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonization of Mauritius;

3. FURTHER RECALLS UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295 of 22 May 2019 which inter alia, affirmed, in accordance with the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of Mauritius, as well as the Judgment of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) of 28 January 2021 which confirmed that Mauritius has sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago;

4. WELCOMES the resolution adopted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 24 August 2021 for the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295 and which, inter alia, provides that the UPU formally acknowledges that, for the purposes of its activities, the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius and that the International Bureau of the UPU should cease the registration, distribution and forwarding of all postage stamps issued by the so-called “British Indian Ocean Territory”;

5. EXPRESSES its deep concern at the continued illegal occupation of the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom in disregard of the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, UN General Assembly Resolutions 73/295 and 26/25 (XXV), and the Judgment of the Special Chamber of ITLOS;

6. REITERATES ITS CALLS TO the United Kingdom to immediately withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago;

7. CALLS UPON Member States to support all efforts in (and in relations with) all international, regional and intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its specialized agencies (including the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Telecommunication Union), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, the North Indian Ocean Hydrographic Commission and the European Union, through initiatives, decisions, resolutions and other actions, aimed at enabling Mauritius to assert its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago pursuant to the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ, UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295 and the Judgment of the Special Chamber of ITLOS;

8. ALSO CALLS UPON Member States to ensure that no action is taken in respect of any matter concerning the Chagos Archipelago or which is in any manner related thereto, by any international, regional and intergovernmental organizations of which they are members, including the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty Organization, without the consent of Mauritius;

9- REQUESTS the Commission to take all necessary steps towards the completion of the decolonization of Mauritius;

”10- AUTHORIZES the PRC to adopt the necessary budget for the implementation of this Decision, and DECIDES to remain actively seized of the matter.