British Indian Ocean Territory

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, how marvellous it was to hear about the fantastic trips the noble Lord, Lord Selsdon, took to Mauritius. I hope that one day I will be able to do the same. I congratulate my noble friend Lady Whitaker on securing this debate and on her commitment to this important cause.

Britain has always considered itself to be a country where fair play is important, where the rule of law is respected and where rights are enforced, but there is a land far away which should prick the nation’s moral conscience, in the unfair treatment meted out to the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands, otherwise known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, by the UK Government.

This group of 54 individual tropical islands was home to around 1,500 people—the Chagossians—for more than a century and a half. The UK Government evicted them in the early 1970s in order to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the area. This is now the only island which is inhabited and it is inhabited only by US military and civilian contracted personnel.

Today only around 700 Chagossians survive, scattered around the globe following their forced exit from the island. Many are living in profound poverty and are still reeling and suffering severe psychological problems from their sense of dislocation and from being separated from their homeland. This is a complicated story interwoven with imperialist overtones, environmental concerns, military and defence considerations, costs concerns, compensation claims and an unfolding tragedy of a people wronged.

The 1966 exchange of notes between the UK and the US, which led to the forced evacuation of the island, can be extended for a further 20 years in 2016, but with a provision for termination in 2014 so, as the noble Lord, Lord Luce, suggested, now is a good time to reassess what should happen next.

A number of the islanders still yearn for the opportunity to go back to their native land. I therefore begin by welcoming the fact that the Government will commission a new feasibility study on the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The draft terms of the study are comprehensive and thorough. There are some difficult issues to assess in the feasibility study. The Government will be aware that the Labour Government in 2000 also commissioned a study to assess to what extent it would be feasible for the outer islands to be reinhabited. I am afraid that the report concluded that resettlement was not feasible. As time has passed, many have concluded that some of the findings, in particular the scientific predictions relating to climate change, have proved not to have been accurate. While welcoming the new study, I first ask the Minister: are there any other significant factors which have changed since 2000 to make the Government think that this study will come to a different conclusion from the one commissioned in 2000?

The first obstacle to overcome would be the renegotiation of the terms of the agreement with the US defence authorities, which have an agreed right to use the island. I am sure it is not beyond the wit of the US defence force to live alongside, or to protect their base from, the Chagos Islanders. They seem to manage fairly well in Guantanamo, where they have lived side by side with the Cubans for decades. Who knows, it might even be helpful for the US to employ some of the islanders at its base.

Beyond that, in theory it would be fairly simple to allow the Chagossians to return—to simply say, “Yes, home you go”—but the real question and issue is: what would they be going home to? What, if any, is our responsibility in the UK to the islanders and their standard of living, in particular in view of the fact that successive UK Governments have undertaken to cede the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer needed for defence purposes? Will the Minister confirm that the current Government also agree that the islands should be transferred to Mauritius at some future date?

There is very little on the islands. The islanders led a basic existence prior to 1966 with very little infrastructure in place, just a few schools and clinics. The marine protection area status which has been granted to the waters around the islands in recent years would have to be developed and adjusted to allow artisanal fishing, as already happens outside the marine protection area around Diego Garcia. The costs of resettlement and a clear understanding by all sides of what resettlement will entail must be explored in the feasibility study, and we must be sensitive in what we ask of the British taxpayer in a time of austerity. However, I urge the Government to heed the advice given by my noble friend Lady Whitaker and explore fully the opportunities for the costs of resettlement to be shared between other interested Governments, the EU and the US.

There are significant risks associated with resettlement, including an understanding that most of the islanders who left in the late 1960s will be well over 60 years of age, and there will be very little access to healthcare. These people may not want to settle on the island; they may want simply to visit the country of their birth. At the very least, the opportunity to visit is surely something which should be explored in the feasibility study.

It is, however, also an opportunity to be creative in what could be offered. Will the Minister say whether the designation of the seas surrounding the islands as a marine protection area will be seen as a threat or an opportunity, and who will make the judgment on this? Will the consultants appointed to make the recommendation be given any kind of political steer?

We welcome the fact that there will be ongoing consultation with stakeholders before the document is finalised, in particular with the Chagossian community. I echo the suggestion that the consultation should be extended to the Mauritians.

Finally, I echo my noble friend Lady Whitaker’s concerns about the speed of the process. There is a suggestion that the feasibility study will take at least 18 months to conclude. It need not take that long. We will be nudging right up against the general election, so will the Minister undertake to ensure that Her Majesty’s Opposition are consulted on the final wording of the terms of reference prior to its commissioning?