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A political trilemma? International security, environmental protection and human rights in the British Indian Ocean Territory

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Abstract

This article analyses political questions pertaining to the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory). In particular, it highlights the interrelatedness of various public policy issues that the extant academic literature has treated as distinct: (i) the US military presence on Diego Garcia; (ii) UK efforts to protect the natural environment of the Chagos Islands; and (iii) the human rights of the exiled Chagossians, the indigenous people of the Chagos Archipelago. The concept of a trilemma is used to illustrate the unhelpful way in which the interrelatedness of these issues currently is portrayed by the relevant political actors. The article concludes with recommendations for how the trade-offs between military security, environmental and human rights objectives could be made less stark in the interests of all concerned.

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Notes

  1. For an overview, see Jeffery (2013).

  2. For an extensive list of publications, see https://sites.google.com/site/thechagosarchipelagofacts/papers-publications, accessed 25 June 2013.

  3. The CEN’s membership comprised the Chagos Conservation Trust, the Linnean Society of London, the Marine Conservation Society, Pew Environment Group, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Royal Society, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Zoological Society of London and Professor Charles Sheppard.

  4. The announcement of an MPA was made in contravention of a pledge given by FCO Minister Ivan Lewis MP that no action would be taken without consulting Parliament (Hansard, 2010a). Explaining the decision to abrogate this commitment, Chris Bryant MP (Minister for Overseas Territories) expounded: ‘it became clear to us that … no further information could have come in that would have made any difference to the decision on the protection of the marine environment in the British Indian Ocean Territory’ (Hansard, 2010b).

  5. At the time of the ECtHR decision, the Chagossians were pursuing a judicial review of the MPA. These legal proceedings came to an end in June 2013 with the High Court ruling against the Chagossians.

  6. The FCO’s (2009) consultation document on whether to create an MPA in BIOT explicitly highlighted the need to accommodate the military base on Diego Garcia.

  7. A new feasibility study into resettlement of Chagos was announced in July 2013.

  8. Dozens of current and former MPs, as well as members of the House of Lords, are on record as supporting the Chagossians’ right to return – including high-profile members of the current coalition government.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Peter Sand, James Sidaway and Allison White for comments on an earlier version of this article. Thanks also to the editors of International Politics for their patience and support.

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Harris, P. A political trilemma? International security, environmental protection and human rights in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Int Polit 51, 87–100 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/ip.2013.46

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