The Government of Mauritius is committed to preserving the terrestrial and marine environment of the Chagos Archipelago.
In April 2010, the United Kingdom purported to establish a ‘marine protected area’ (‘MPA’) around the Chagos Archipelago. The purported ‘MPA’ is illegal in the light of the Award delivered on 18 March 2015 by the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and as reaffirmed in the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 25 February 2019, and cannot therefore be enforced.
As Mauritius is the sole State lawfully entitled to exercise sovereignty and sovereign rights over the Chagos Archipelago and its maritime zones, it falls to the Government of Mauritius to establish a Marine Protected Area in the waters of the Chagos Archipelago, in accordance with national policies. Necessary action has been initiated by the Government of Mauritius in this regard.
