Fourty years ago, the last Chagos Islanders, also known as Ilois or Chagossians, were forced to leave their homes in the Chagos Archipelago. Ever since, they have been denied to return to live there by the British government. The reason is that the British government leased Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago, to the USA. While the expulsion of the indigenous inhabitants is a public abuse of power by the British government, some of the secret activities on the military base on Diego Garcia can probably be classified as illegal.

Human rights groups believe the base has been used for extraordinary rendition operations, including that prisoners were incarcerated there. Such renditions are extrajudicial transfers of persons, often in combination with illegal abductions of these persons and subsequent torture.

Now is the time to stop renewal of the lease of Diego Garcia and enable the Chagossians to return. The suspected illegal activities connected to the military base must also be fully investigated.