Tamil asylum seekers in Diego Garcia excluded from new transfer agreement

by admin
Oct 22, 2024

Tamil asylum seekers stranded on Diego Garcia have been excluded from a new agreement between the UK and St Helena governments to transfer asylum seekers arriving at the Chagos Islands to St Helena.

The St Helena government announced that from October 16, any asylum seerkers arriving on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) from this date will be moved to St Helena. 

The development deals a new blow to Tamil asylum seekers who have been stranded on the island since 2021. The news comes just weeks after the UK government agreed to offer Tamil asylum seekers who have been stranded on Diego Garcia a temporary move to Romania.  After six months of stay in Romania, the Tamil asylum seekers could potentially be transferred over to the UK, a request that they have made for years. 

There are currently 56 Tamils still on Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean that hosts a large US-UK military base. Four of the asylum seekers are currently in Rwanda for medical treatment.

The situation in Diego Garcia has become increasingly dire, with the asylum seekers enduring deteriorating living conditions, mental health crises, and allegations of abuse. 

The group of Tamils fled in October 2021, attempting to reach Canada to claim asylum before their boat came into trouble near Diego Garcia. The UN refugee agency UNHCR had released a damning report finding violence, abuse and arbitrary detention of the migrants in Diego Garcia. Allegations of sexual abuse against women and children were also presented to the UN inspectors. The UN report called for "immediate relocation" due to concerns of safety. Many of them are Tamil, fleeing persecution by Sri Lankan authorities, including allegations of torture and sexual abuse.

The decision to transfer asylum seekers comes after the UK handed control over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius earlier this month. While Chagossians will be allowed to return to the smaller Chagos islands, they will not be permitted to return to Diego Garcia where the US military base will continue to operate for another 99 years. 

Although Tamil asylum seekers on Diego Garcia expressed relief following the decision to temporarily transfer them to Romania  their fate remains unclear.

 

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