Dozens of migrants fleeing persecution in Sri Lanka have been held for years in a camp on a secretive island in the Indian Ocean, but could eventually be moved to the UK.
Back in 2021, the group of Tamils claimed asylum on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago, where there is a joint US-UK military base.
They said they had been heading for Canada when their boat ran into trouble and sought asylum there after being saved by the Navy. Their account was supported by maps, diary entries and GPS data. Further boats arrived in the months that followed.
It sparked a long legal dispute, due to the island’s unusual status as part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), BBC News reports.
The UK government had argued that bringing them to Britain to be processed risked establishing a “backdoor migration route”. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) said ministers were looking for a solution that would protect the welfare of migrants as well as “the integrity of British territorial borders.”
They added that relocating the most vulnerable asylum seekers while their legal claims are being processed would mean they had “greater safety and wellbeing”.
Migrants stranded in the camp there told the BBC they are to be offered a move to a “safe centre” in Romania, run by the UN, for up to six months, with UK ministers continuing to look for a “durable solution” during that time.
At the end of these six months, they could be moved to the UK. Some are also being offered financial incentives to return to Sri Lanka, including £3,000, medical insurance for three years, accommodation for up to three years, as well as a job, training or education opportunities, according to the outlet.
It came after Keir Starmer‘s government handed over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius, though the British-American base would remain for at least another 99 years.
Diego Garcia has long been shrouded in mystery, with only people with connections to the military facility or the British authority that runs the territory, and a permit, permitted to enter. The media has also historically been banned from the island.
A court hearing took place on Diego Garcia last month over whether the Tamil group had been unlawfully held in a small fenced camp, guarded by private security firm G4S, with a judgement in the case expected soon.
The British government has argued that the refugee convention doesn’t apply to the Biot because it is “constitutionally distinct” from the UK, despite being administered from London.
There are 56 Tamils still on the island, with a further eight now in Rwanda.
Eight have been granted international protection while most are awaiting a decision on their claims or appealing rejected ones.
Paul Candler, who had been the top official running the territory, requested this summer that the government bring all of the asylum seekers to Britain over what he said was a “dangerous and unsustainable situation” amid multiple self-harm incidents.
He resigned a month later, saying he had found the “migrants situation increasingly difficult” and “the personal leadership demands that this has placed on me increasingly challenging”, according to the resignation letter obtained by the BBC.
Representatives from the UN and the Red Cross have previously raised concerns about the conditions inside the camp, with reports of rats nesting in the group’s tents.
Biot’s acting commissioner Nishi Dholakia told migrants in the camp on Tuesday that the UK government had considered the Biot administration’s earlier request to send everyone to the UK, instead had opted to “make different offers to different individuals”.
“Some people will receive offers to go to another safe country and others will receive an offer for voluntary return,” he told them.
“I want to reassure you that this announcement does not mean anyone will be leaving the island immediately. You will all have time to consider the offer and next steps,” he added.
Migrants who have not yet had their protection claims approved haven’t run out of legal avenues, according to the report, with lawyers representing the migrants due to fly to the island this week.
The FCDO has been approached for comment via email.