L’accord relatif aux Iles Chagos conclu entre le Royaume-Uni et la République de Maurice laisse ouvertes plusieurs questions touchant à l'exercice effectif du droit des peuples à l'autodétermination

This paper examines the content of the Agreement signed by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago (including Diego Garcia) in the light of the right of peoples to self-determination. The treaty, in fact, restores sovereignty over the archipelago in question to Mauritius, thereby responding to the requests of the international bodies that have been involved in the matter over time, but grants the United Kingdom rights and authority over Diego Garcia Island—the site of a major Anglo-American military base—for 99 years (renewable). This “concession”, which will entail the payment of an annual sum and the assumption of other financial obligations by the UK, appears to be a ploy to definitively recognise the sovereignty of the Mauritian state over the Chagos Islands whilst safeguarding british (and US) prerogatives and interests on Diego Garcia. However, it was decided without the involvement of the Chagos people. The paper will therefore aim to assess the compatibility of the Agreement, and in particular of the solution just mentioned, with the right to self-determination of peoples, understood in its dual sense as the right of peoples subjected to a colonial, racist or foreign regime to become independent, and the right of every people to freely determine their own political, economic and social status. It will be shown that, although the Agreement appears to be compatible with the first interpretation of this right, the same cannot be said of the second one. The paper will therefore highlight the option available for safeguarding the core of the community’s rights even in situations where the political imperatives of states appear to be difficult to reconcile with those guarantees.

L'articolo tende a valutare il contenuto dell'accordo (non ancora in vigore) concluso tra il Regno Unito e la Repubblica delle Mauritius e concernente le isole Chagos alla luce del principio di autodeterminazione inteso nella sua duplice accezione di diritto a rendersi indipendenti e di diritto di ciascun popolo a scegliere liberamente la propria organizzazione politica, istituzionale, economica.