Date of Lecture: Thursday 19 January 2023

About the Lecture:

After the Second World War new international rules heralded an age of human rights and self-determination. Supported by Britain, these unprecedented changes sought to end the scourge of colonialism.

Yet in the 1960s, a secret decision was taken to offer the US a base at Diego Garcia, one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, create a new colony (the ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’) and deport the entire local population.

For four decades the government of Mauritius fought for the return of Chagos. In 2019, the World Court in The Hague, which ruled that Britain illegally detached Chagos, that the islands belonged to Mauritius, and that the UK must end its illegal occupation.

For three years Britain resisted the ruling. A few weeks ago, however, it changed its mind, and began negotiations with Mauritius to return the islands and allow the Chagossians to resettle.

Philippe Sands shares a story about the making of modern international law and the fight for justice, as told in his new book The Last Colony.

About the speaker:

Philippe Sands QC is Professor of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard.