50th Anniversary Of British Indian Ocean Territory

EDM number 79 in 2016-17, proposed by Andrew Rosindell on 24/05/2016.
Categorised under the topics of Defence policy, Human rights, International law, North America and Overseas territories.

That this House observes that 8 November 2015 was the 50th anniversary of the creation of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the purpose of which was to build a US base on Diego Garcia; notes that an agreement between the UK and the US of 30 December 1966 made provision for the Territory to be set aside for defence purposes and for the population to be deported; further notes that this agreement comes up for re-negotiation and renewal before 30 December 2016; expresses profound regret that the Chagossian people have lived in exile for at least the last 42 years and that many have since died; urges the Government to restore the human rights of the Chagossian people; and calls for the renewal of the 1966 UK/US Agreement to be conditional on a commitment by both parties to facilitate and support resettlement, given that the recent independent study by KPMG into resettlement found no reason why it should not take place.

This motion has been signed by a total of 52 MPs.