Politics
Mauritius delegation to visit Chagos for scientific survey

A delegation, led by the Permanent Representative of Mauritius to the United Nations, Ambassador Jagdish Dharamchand Koonjul, will undertake a scientific survey at Blenheim Reef, a partly submerged atoll in the north eastern part of the Chagos Archipelago.
PM Pravind Jugnauth announced on 7 February that the delegation would comprise legal advisers and representatives namely Professor Philippe Joseph Sands, QC, as well as local and foreign technicians, the Chairperson of the Chagossian Welfare Fund, Mr Olivier Bancoult, and other representatives of the Chagossian community, as well as international journalists.
“It will be the first time that post-independent Mauritius, as a sovereign Republic, would undertake such a survey in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago,” Jugnauth said.
He added that it was a concrete step, made by the Republic, in exercising its sovereignty and sovereign rights in relation to the Chagos Archipelago.
Recalling the Advisory Opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 25 February 2019, the Prime Minister reiterated that the Chagos Archipelago formed an integral part of the territory of Mauritius and that the ICJ affirmed that the continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom constituted a wrongful act.
He also talked of the Judgment of the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 28 January 2021 in the case brought by Mauritius against Maldives under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which overruled all the preliminary objections raised by Maldives and confirmed Mauritius’s undisputed sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
Mr Jugnauth explained that the findings of the scientific survey would be part of the country’s reply to the Counter-Memorial of the Maldives in the Dispute at the ITLOS concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives.
The Reply should be submitted to the Tribunal by latest on 14 April 2022, whereupon the Maldives would provide its Rejoinder.
Jugnauth argued Maldives has imposed unacceptable conditions to allow the Mauritian delegation access to its ports to travel to the Blenheim Reef, which would have made a shorter journey, the Seychelles President readily agreed for the delegation to board the vessel for Blenhiem Reef in its waters.
The Mauritian delegation is expected to leave for the Seychelles on Tuesday 8 February, where they are expected to embark on Bleu de Nîmes, a vessel chartered by the Mauritian government.
The returned date is scheduled for 22 February 2022.
The Mauritian media will not be part of the trip, a decision which has been criticised by several newsrooms.