Isolated UK faces thrashing in UN vote on ownership of Chagos Islands in Indian Ocean

UN General Assembly expected to vote in favour of UK relinquishing control of Indian Ocean archipelago claimed by Mauritius

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The British-claimed island of Diego Garcia, largest island in the Chagos Archipelago. Photo: Reute

Published: 3:36pm, 21 May 2019Updated: 3:38pm, 21 May 2019

The UK is facing a diplomatic rout at the United Nations on Wednesday when the general assembly is expected to vote overwhelmingly to demand Britain relinquish hold of one of the last vestiges of its empire in the Indian Ocean.

The US and the UK have lobbied intensely at the UN to avoid support for Britain dropping to single figures among the UN’s 193 member states on the issue of its continued possession of the Chagos Islands, known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The vote follows an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February that UK should hand over control to Mauritius, which claims sovereignty over the islands.

London and Washington are trying to persuade allies to at least abstain, so as to prevent support for Mauritius reaching triple figures.

The Mauritian mission to the UN believes it has reached that threshold, winning pledges of backing from more than 100 member states.

Such a lopsided defeat would also serve to underline British isolation in a battle that many UN member states, particularly in Africa, see as a last stand to preserve a relic of empire, and at a time at a time when its European Union allies, dismayed by Brexit, are no longer automatically offering support.