Chagos Islands: Resettlement (Hansard, 13 December 2004)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, the Government undertook a study that concluded in 2002 to look at the feasibility of resettlement by the Chagossians of the outer islands of the Chagos archipelago. The conclusions of that study stated that resettlement would be precarious and the cost of maintaining long-term habitation would be prohibitive. The Government will therefore not reconsider their decision to prevent resettlement, which was taken after long and very careful consideration.

§ Lord Beaumont of Whitley
My Lords, is it not extraordinary even by the standards of a British government that a people should be expelled from their country, that that should be declared legally inadmissible and wrong and that the British Government should then forbid them to return to their settlement, which the judgment would have allowed them to do? Regarding the possibility of how precarious their position would be if they arrived, is that not a matter for them to decide?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, over the passing years, there are many issues on which governments have cause to reflect. The expulsion of the people from these islands took place in the late 1960s and, as I am sure the noble Lord, Lord Beaumont of Whitley, is aware, the Government have already paid compensation to the Chagossians. There were two payments, which altogether amounted at the time to almost £5 million. In today's value that amounts to some £14.5 million. At that time, the Chagossians' own lawyers advised them that that represented a fair and reasonable settlement. It is important to remember that when the noble Lord implies—as he managed to do in his Question—that we have somehow behaved dishonourably.
There is now legislation by Order in Council, which is the normal procedure for amending the constitution of an overseas territory. For some territories, Orders in Council are made under statutory powers. For others, such as the BIOT, they are under royal prerogative. The noble Lord will know that that status is being challenged by judicial proceedings and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the legality.

§ Baroness Trumpington
My Lords, will the Minister kindly tell me approximately where are the Chagos Islands?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, the Chagos Islands are near Mauritius and the Seychelles. Some of those who were expelled went to settle in Mauritius and some went to settle in the Seychelles. Now that they have access to British nationality, which this Government granted them, some are resident in the United Kingdom.

§ Lord Avebury
My Lords, apart from the cases of mass deportation by Stalin in the Soviet Union, is this not the only instance in the past half-century where a whole people have been uprooted and removed from their ancestral territories? What advice did the Government take before the Orders in Council were promulgated on whether this action by the Government is consistent with the ECHR?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, the noble Lord should be jolly careful not to over-egg his pudding with his reference to Stalin. The fact is that these people were paid compensation: I do not believe that that happened under Stalin. The noble Lord should be a little more careful when drawing his analogies. Of course proper legal advice was taken before the Government proceeded with the Orders in Council.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, why do the people want to return? Will they be physically prevented doing so or is this a legal matter? Do they merely have nostalgic ideas about how good life might have been there?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, many want to return to visit the ancestral sites where their predecessors lie buried. That has been one of the very sad issues under discussion, because arrangements were made for them to make such a visit which, alas, fell through. My honourable friend Mr Rammell, when he saw representatives of the Chagossians in London on 16 November, said that if they wanted to visit the islands he would arrange for them to do so.
However, if the people wanted to return to live on the islands, they would find that there was nothing there. There is nothing left of the copra plantation. There is no infrastructure left, no clean water, electricity or any real sanitation. The idea that it would be easy to repopulate the islands, although it may be a great dream to some individuals, is actually quite unrealistic.

§ Earl Attlee
My Lords, what quality of life do the Chagossians enjoy in Mauritius?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I understand that they have enjoyed the same standard of living as those of Mauritian nationality from the beginning. We must remember that when these people left the Chagos Islands there were about 1,300 of them. Through the natural course of events there are now 5,000. Many of those people have been born and bred in the countries where they have subsequently taken up residence and where they enjoy the rights of citizens of those countries.