Chagos Petition

On 5 March 2010, MET submitted a petition to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as part of the consultation on the creation of a Marine Protected Area in the Chagos archipelago.

Over 1,500 people from all over the world signed the petition and gave their support to our campaign. They included a former President of the Republic of Mauritius, 16 Members of Parliament, two Peers, one MEP, ten Professors of Marine and Conservation Science, and over 100 other marine science and conservation professionals, as well as other academics and professionals from a wide range of disciplines, and concerned members of the public. Most of the signatories were from the United Kingdom, United States and Mauritius, and included many Chagos Islanders.

The petition called for the Foreign Secretary to work with the Chagos islanders and the Government of Mauritius to devise an MPA solution that makes provision for resettlement and that protects Mauritius’ legitimate interests. It suggested that this could be achieved through, for example, zonation that permits the sustainable use of marine resources in specific reef, lagoon and open ocean areas. The petition letter also highlighted that any failure to include adequately the Chagossians and the Government of Mauritius in the development of an MPA undermines the transparency of the process and threatens its long-term effectiveness.

MET's petition was launched in direction response to another campaign in support of full no-take protection of the archipelago. That campaign failed to mention the Chagos islanders at all, let alone the circumstances of their exile or their ongoing fight for the right to return.

There can be no legitimacy to the project without the issue of sovereignty and resettlement being addressed.

Abhimanu Kundasamy, the Mauritius High Commissioner