evidence: In 1965, while planning for Mauritian independence, the UK constituted the Chagos as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).[4][5] Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968, and has since claimed the Chagos Archipelago as Mauritian territory. [...] On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos archipelago "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius." The resolution demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration ... unconditionally within a period of no more than six months." 116 states voted in favour of the resolution, 55 abstained and only 5 countries supported the United Kingdom. During the debate, the Mauritian Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, described the expulsion of Chagossians as "akin to a crime against humanity," while the United Kingdom continued to assert that it had no doubt about its sovereignty over the archipelago.[50] The Maldives were one of the countries which supported the UK in the General Assembly vote. It stated that, if the Chagos Archipelago became inhabited, the Maldives claim to an extension of its Exclusive Economic Zone would be affected. The resolution's immediate consequence was that the UN and other international organisations became bound by UN law to support the decolonisation of the Chagos Islands. [...] - ^ "Conservation and Management in British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)" (PDF). Chagos-trust.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2017.