MR. TOBIAS PETER NOSKWITH

The British Indian Ocean Territory hosts what is often considered to be the most important military installation in the entire world. This joint US-UK installation has been used by the United States in every single war in which it has fought since the 1970s, including Vietnam. I have made arguments that this base is integral to the US national interest, and that its continued preservation would be best achieved through ongoing British sovereignty. I have also argued that the Chagossian people should be permitted to resettle in the BIOT, to help operate the base and as a matter of both honour and interest. My lobbying in this period did not describe or respond to any specific bills before the Congress.

The British Indian Ocean Territory is essential to the worldwide data collection and decryption systems operated by the Five Eyes powers. I have argued that it is integral for the surveillance and collection systems in the BIOT not to be subjected to any kind of foreign authority outside the existing 1966 US-UK Exchange of Notes. I have also advocated, in general, that the work of special forces which the Facility sometimes facilitates will be endangered by any cession. My lobbying in this period did not describe or respond to any specific bills before the Congress.

There is a major risk that development, if carried out without due regard for the natural environment, may have a debilitating, adverse effect on the fishery in the BIOT. The BIOT is also a refuge of global importance for turtles, whales, and many migratory species; the status quo being the best way to protect this domain. I have made each of these arguments. I have also argued that the Chagossian people would be the best custodians and guarantors of this outstanding natural wealth. My lobbying in this period did not describe nor respond to any specific bills before the Congress.

Substantial risks exist to the entire ecosystem of the BIOT, which has been protected from virtually all exploitation for sixty years; I have argued thus. I have advocated that it would be extremely. Similarly to, and in connection with, my advocacy on marine issues, I have emphasised that the BIOT is also a refuge of global importance for turtles, whales, and many migratory species; the status quo being the best way to protect this domain. I have also argued that the Chagossian people would be the best custodians and guarantors of this outstanding natural wealth. My lobbying in this period did not describe nor respond to any specific bills before the Congress.

I have expressed that it would be wrong, and contrary to the interests of the United States, to subject the Chagossian people to potential future Mauritian jurisdiction. The Chagossian people are predominantly Roman Catholics and have endured exceptionally alarming persecution for their religious faith, orchestrated by the Mauritian government, in that nation for many decades. I have made all of these arguments. My lobbying in this period did not describe or respond to any specific bills before the Congress.

The Chagossian people have endured state-orchestrated persecution in Mauritius, a principal modern example of which is that to in any way contend their existence as a distinct group of people, or the idea of continued British sovereignty over the BIOT, is punishable by ten years hard labor. I have argued that this, and associated repression, is deserving of absolute wariness in the context of territorial cession of the BIOT. My lobbying in this period did not describe or respond to any specific bills before the Congress.