Editing Diego Garcia (section)

===21st century===
On 23 June 2017, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] (UNGA) voted in favour of referring the territorial dispute between Mauritius and the UK to the [[International Court of Justice]] (ICJ) in order to clarify the legal status of the Chagos Islands archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The motion was approved by a majority vote with 94 voting for and 15 against.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sengupta|first1=Somini|title=U.N. Asks International Court to Weigh in on Britain-Mauritius Dispute|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/world/europe/uk-mauritius-chagos-islands.html|work=The New York Times|date=22 June 2017|archive-date=27 December 2019|access-date=23 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227214438/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/world/europe/uk-mauritius-chagos-islands.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chagos legal status sent to international court by UN|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40376673|access-date=23 June 2017|work=BBC News|date=22 June 2017|archive-date=3 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703075109/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40376673|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2019, the ICJ in [[The Hague]] ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer the islands to Mauritius as they were not legally separated from the latter in 1965. The UK Foreign Office said the ruling is not legally binding.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |title=Chagos Islands dispute: UK obliged to end control – UN |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47358602 |work=BBC News |date=25 February 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126230026/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47358602 |url-status=live }}</ref>  In May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the decision of the International Court of Justice and demanded that the United Kingdom withdraw its colonial administration from the Islands and cooperate with Mauritius to facilitate the resettlement of Mauritian nationals in the archipelago.<ref>{{cite web |title=UK suffers crushing defeat in UN vote on Chagos Islands |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/uk-suffers-crushing-defeat-un-vote-chagos-islands |work=The Guardian |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523022954/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/22/uk-suffers-crushing-defeat-un-vote-chagos-islands |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 22 May 2019 |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/73/295 |work=UN General Assembly |date=22 May 2019 |access-date=6 June 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308160804/https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/73/295 |url-status=live }}</ref>  In a written statement, the U.S. government said that neither the Americans nor the British have any plans to discontinue use of the military base on Diego Garcia. The statement said in a footnote: "In 2016, there were discussions between the United Kingdom and the United States concerning the continuing importance of the joint base. Neither party gave notice to terminate and the agreement remains in force until 2036".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.stripes.com/news/un-ruling-raises-questions-about-future-of-us-mission-in-diego-garcia-1.571709 |title= UN ruling raises questions about future of US mission in Diego Garcia |date= 7 March 2019 |first= Joshua |last= Karsten |publisher= Stars and Stripes |access-date= 16 June 2019 |archive-date= 16 June 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190616221338/https://www.stripes.com/news/un-ruling-raises-questions-about-future-of-us-mission-in-diego-garcia-1.571709 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name= thakkar />

In June 2020, a Mauritian official offered to allow the United States to retain its military base on the island if Mauritius succeeded in regaining sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-base-in-diego-garcia-welcome-to-stay-after-transfer-of-sovereignty-official-says/ |title=Navy Base in Diego Garcia Welcome to Stay After Transfer of Sovereignty, Official Says |last=Burgess |first=Richard R. |date=24 June 2020 |website=Seapower Magazine |publisher=[[Navy League of the United States]] |access-date=19 June 2020 |quote=The U.S. Navy base in Diego Garcia, an outpost in the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, would be welcome to remain if Mauritius succeeds in its sovereignty claim over the archipelago, currently known as the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT), a Mauritian official said. |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730214555/https://seapowermagazine.org/navy-base-in-diego-garcia-welcome-to-stay-after-transfer-of-sovereignty-official-says/ |url-status=live }}</ref>