<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardo, declared this Thursday that the signing of the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius for the return of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago to the latter country will have “any negative read across” on the sovereignty of the Rock.</strong></h4> British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this Thursday that he has reached an agreement with the Government of Mauritius to return sovereignty over Chagos, the United Kingdom's last colony in Africa, located in the Indian Ocean. The agreement includes control of the military base on the island of Diego Garcia (shared by London and Washington), which will remain in the hands of the United Kingdom in exchange for the payment of an annual rent of approximately €120 million for a period of 99 years, because it is “absolutely vital to our defense and intelligence, and therefore to the security of the British people,” Starmer explained. The agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius on the Chagos Islands was announced last October, but it had not been ratified until now due to disagreements over control of the military base. Finally, the agreement makes it clear from the outset that “Mauritius is sovereign over the entire Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.” Once this point was clarified, the London High Court lifted the injunction preventing the signing of the agreement with Mauritius on Thursday. During an address to the Gibraltar Parliament, Picardo asserted that the United Kingdom "has made the right decision on the Chagos Islands" because “this is a decision that protects national security while respecting international law.” He also warned that “the read across to Gibraltar is positive and is particularly relevant in the defence of British Sovereignty over the whole of the territory and the British Territorial Waters around the Rock.” “I am very clear that there is no aspect of this decision, the Advisory Opinion or the Treaty being entered into which has any negative read across to Gibraltar,” he added. “Prime Minister Starmer, Foreign Secretary Lammy and Minister Doughty enjoy my Government's full support in the implementation of this decision and I know that we enjoy their full support in the defence of full British Sovereignty in respect of the whole of Gibraltar and its waters,” he concluded. Last October, Picardo assured the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (the so-called Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly that the agreement between the United Kingdom and Mauritius on Changos is based on “General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) which explicitly declared the existence of the right to self-determination”, and warned, in this regard, that the General Assembly resolutions on which Spain bases its claim of sovereignty over Gibraltar “have no legal value, they have no legal standing”, because “they are not declaratory of any principle of international law” and “there is nothing in those resolutions that prevails over the resolution that really matters”, referring to the aforementioned Resolution 1514 (XV). In a press release, the United States government welcomed the "historic agreement" between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory, "specifically the Chagos Archipelago," and congratulated both countries for "their leadership, vision, and commitment to ensuring that Diego Garcia remains fully operational for the duration of this agreement." The Trump administration believes that this agreement "secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility on Diego Garcia," which represents "a fundamental asset for regional and global security."
