The International Court of Justice in The Hague has said in an advisory opinion that Britain should return Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius “as rapidly as possible.”
NASA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. has a military base in iego Garcia, which is part of the Chagos Archipelago.
The judges, ruling 13:1, said the islands were unlawfully detached from Mauritius in 1964. By doing so, Britain had violated the 1960 United Nations declaration prohibiting the breakup of colonies before independence.
However, since it is an advisory opinion, it is not legal binding for Britain.