evidence: The UK Government is "under an obligation" to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago "as rapidly as possible" the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial body of the UN, stated in an Advisory Opinion released on Monday. The Opinion calls the continued administration of the archipelago "unlawful," and "a wrongful act." The Chagos Islands were retained by the United Kingdom during negotiations over independence for the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, which came to fruition in 1968. The islands have since been used for defence purposes by the UK and the United States, which established a military base on the island of Diego Garcia. [...] The Opinion was delivered following a request by the UN General Assembly, and a request by Mauritius for the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Chagos Archipelago, to be disbanded and the territory returned to the country, as well as a legal challenge by Mauritius to the UK Government’s creation of a marine protected area around islands.