Yesterday, Argentina presented its position before the International Court of Justice in an Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of the separation of Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The Court's opinion was requested in June 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Before the independence of Mauritius in 1968, Chagos Archipelago was detached from Mauritius Islands by the United Kingdom, which later leased its main island, Diego García, to the United States for the establishment of a military base.
This is a case of territorial dismemberment that involves principles of fundamental importance to Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands.
The Argentine presentation ratifies the authority of the United Nations General Assembly in the field of decolonization, as well as the principle of territorial integrity and the obligation to negotiate and to refrain from performing unilateral acts contrary to the decolonization process.
The arguments put forward by Argentina, as well as by other countries interested in this matter, will help the International Court of Justice form its opinion, which, although non-binding, has great political and legal value.
02 March 2018
Press release No. 069/18
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