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Lunch Hour Lecture|The Last Colony: Chagos & a Very British Tale of Exile, Justice & Colonial Legacy
19 January 2023, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
In this Lunch Hour Lecture Philippe Sands shares a story about the making of modern international law and the fight for justice, as told in his new book The Last Colony.
This event is free.
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Cost
- Free
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About the Lecture:
After the Second World War new international rules heralded an age of human rights and self-determination. Supported by Britain, these unprecedented changes sought to end the scourge of colonialism.
Yet in the 1960s, a secret decision was taken to offer the US a base at Diego Garcia, one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, create a new colony (the ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’) and deport the entire local population.
For four decades the government of Mauritius fought for the return of Chagos. In 2019, the World Court in The Hague, which ruled that Britain illegally detached Chagos, that the islands belonged to Mauritius, and that the UK must end its illegal occupation.
For three years Britain resisted the ruling. A few weeks ago, however, it changed its mind, and began negotiations with Mauritius to return the islands and allow the Chagossians to resettle.
Philippe Sands shares a story about the making of modern international law and the fight for justice, as told in his new book The Last Colony.
About the Speaker
Philippe Sands QC
Professor of Law at UCL
Philippe Sands QC is Professor of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard. He is a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers, appears frequently as counsel before the International Court of Justice and other international courts and tribunals, and sits as an international arbitrator. He is a Member of the Board of Hay Festival of Arts and Literature and President of English PEN. His latest books are East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (2016) and The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020).