This article appears in the December issue of The American Philatelist and was written by Alex Chaplin. Click here to read part two of the article. 

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) made philatelic history in August 2021 by taking the unprecedented step of declaring the stamps of the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT) illegal and requiring the 192 member countries to no longer register, distribute or forward postage stamps issued by the “British Indian Ocean Territory.” BIOT must instead use stamps issued by Mauritius in recognition of Mauritian sovereignty.  

The decision was made at the UPU’s 27th Universal Postal Congress in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, which concluded on August 27, 2021, one day before a joint press release announcing the decision was released from Abidjan and UPU headquarters in Berne, Switzerland (August 28). I have not found the date when the decision was made but assume it was on the final day of Congress, August 27, since the press release came the next day. Participating member countries voted 77 for and 6 against, with 41 abstentions. The decision reflects the latest step taken by the United Nations (U.N.) recognizing Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. However, the United Kingdom (UK) has administered the Chagos Archipelago as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) since 1965, resisting Mauritius’ efforts – supported by recent U.N. mandates – to reclaim sovereignty. The wording of the UPU press release implies the decision is effective immediately, reflecting the determination of most U.N. members to have the United Kingdom comply with earlier resolutions and decisions supporting Mauritius. Of the UPU’s decision, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said “This is another big step in favor of the recognition of the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos.” 

Figure 1.This May 27, 1970, cover was sent from Rhodesia to the UK with Rhodesian stamps, which were deemed illegal by the UK. Postage due stamps were affixed.

Historical Precedence

I have found no other instance of the UPU taking this action against a member. The most similar examples have occurred when states – rather than the U.N. – imposed sanctions that explicitly or implicitly make postage stamps from another country illegal or invalid. For example, the UK deemed stamps from Rhodesia invalid as a response to the Rhodesian’s government Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.  This made Rhodesia a rebel British colony in the eyes of the UK government and the UK Commonwealth.  Mail bearing Rhodesian stamps arriving in the UK was delivered with postage due marks and stamps from the UK Post Office (Figure 1). The UK government called on other countries to take similar action. In 1966, the U.N. passed a resolution, sponsored by the UK, for sanctions against Rhodesia. Those sanctions did not target postage stamps issued by Rhodesia. Rhodesia remained as an unrecognized and sanctioned state until the transition to majority rule in 1979. Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980.

As another example, the U.S. maintains economic sanctions against Cuba dating from the Kennedy administration in 1962. Direct postal service between the U.S. and Cuba was suspended between 1963 and 2018.  During that period, mail between the two nations went via other countries such as Canada, Mexico and Panama. There was a blanket ban on imports from Cuba that included postage stamps.  Collectors interested in buying and selling stamps from sanctioned nations are advised to use trusted dealers to avoid inadvertently violating economic sanctions. Another reason to use trusted dealers is that you may not be aware that your area of interest includes sanctioned nations.

Figure 2. BIOT stamp (Scott 18) denominated in Mauritian cents with Diego Garcia postmark, February 28, 1969, BIOT Scott 1. Courtesy of Commonwealth Stamps Opinion.

Figure 3. Seychelles 5 cent stamp with BIOT overprint issued on January 17, 1968. 

The United Kingdom’s Claim over BIOT

The UK acquired Mauritius and its dependencies comprising the Seychelles and the Chagos Archipelago from France in 1814 under the Treaty of Paris (Map 1). In 1965, three years before Mauritius would declare its independence from the United Kingdom, the UK paid 3 million pounds sterling ($3.9 million) to excise the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to form BIOT, with the purpose of creating a joint military base with the United States (Map 2). BIOT stamps were first issued in January 1968 and were denominated in Seychelles rupees and cents (Figure 2). The first BIOT stamps were from the Seychelles, which was a British colony until 1976, and bore a BIOT overprint (Figure 3).  The denomination changed to British pounds in 1992.
The largest atoll in BIOT is Diego Garcia, which the UK currently leases to the U.S. as a military base. Diego Garcia has the nickname “Footprint of Freedom,” based on the shape of its outline. It is located just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean. The island is about 38 miles from tip to tip with an area of 6,720 acres. 

Between 1965 and 1973, the UK forcibly relocated the entire Chagossian population of around 2,000 people to Mauritius and the Seychelles in order to transition Diego Garcia for use as a joint British and U.S. military base.  A Foreign Office memorandum of guidance from May 1964 reads : “These steps [i.e., the depopulation] should be ordered and timed to attract the least attention and should have some logical cover where possible worked out in advance.”  

The UK government strategy for depopulating the Chagos islands was to present Chagossians as contract workers. One official stated in an internal memo,

“The Colonial Office is at present considering the line to be taken in dealing with the existing inhabitants of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). They wish to avoid using the phrase 'permanent inhabitants' in relation to any of the islands in the territory because to recognize that there are any permanent inhabitants will imply that there is a population whose democratic rights will have to be safeguarded and which will therefore be deemed by the UN to come within its purlieu.  The solution will be to issue them with documents making it clear that they are 'belongers' of Mauritius and the Seychelles and only temporary residents of BIOT. This device, though rather transparent, would at least give us a defensible position to take up at the UN.”

A secret file dated 1966 from the Permanent Undersecretary at the Foreign Office includes the following statement: “We would not wish it to become general knowledge that some of the inhabitants have lived on Diego Garcia for at least two generations.” A diplomatic cable dated August 24, 1966, reads “The object of the exercise is to get some rocks which will remain ours; there will be no indigenous population except seagulls who have not yet got a committee.  The Status of Women Committee does not cover the rights of Birds.” “Bird” was common British slang for a woman in the 1960s, and the “Status of Women Committee” references the U.N. organization for gender equality, U.N. Women. The author of the cable, P. R. H. Wright, implies with his pun that there is no group at the U.N. that will defend the Chagossians. Denis Greenhill, head of the Colonial Office, added the following handwritten note, “Unfortunately along with the Birds go some few Tarzans or Men Fridays whose origins are obscure, and who are being hopefully wished on to Mauritius etc.” Mr. Greenhill follows Wright’s pun to say the men will be removed with the women. These memos, declassified in the 2000s, demonstrate the UK government’s plan of presenting the Chagossians not as an established local population but as uncivilized and unskilled temporary contract laborers brought in from Mauritius, the Seychelles and other locations.  

Map 1. Location of the Chagos Islands, courtesy of The Times (UK).

Map 2. The Chagos Archipelago.

In reality, Chagossians are descended from Malagasy and Mozambiquan slaves brought by the French starting in the 1780s and indentured laborers from India who started arriving in the 1840s when the territory was under British rule.

Chagossians and their descendants continue to campaign for reparations and repatriation. The UK government has awarded compensation to Chagossians and allowed one week heritage visits on about an annual basis to Diego Garcia for groups of up to 25 people but continues to resist repatriation, citing a lack of infrastructure and resources as barriers to successfully re-establishing a local population. The UK government provided funds to Mauritius to assist in the resettlement of Chagossians and passed the British Overseas Territory Act in 2002 awarding British citizenship to Chagossians and their children born between 1969 and 1982.

Diego Garcia Today

Today, Diego Garcia has no local population and no U.S. military dependents. Access to Diego Garcia and the Chagos Archipelago is highly restricted, requiring permits to be submitted up to six months in advance. There is no commercial transportation to or from Diego Garcia. The Royal Navy and the Royal Marines form the bulk of the British presence, including providing the personnel for the Royal Overseas Police Officers (ROPO). A commissioner, deputy commissioner and an administrator govern the territory from London. The senior Royal Navy officer has the designation of British Representative (Brit Rep) for the British Foreign Commonwealth Office, which places him or her in charge of civilian affairs including policing and customs. The Brit Rep is also the officer commanding British Forces in BIOT. The Brit Rep’s roles include postmaster, magistrate, coroner and registrar of marriages.

The U.S. presence consists mainly of Navy and Air Force personnel. The U.S. military facility includes a harbor that can accommodate an aircraft carrier and a two-mile runway that can accommodate B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers. The facility supports military operations in Asia and the Middle East. The facility’s location is strategically placed to monitor and respond to military activity in the Indo Pacific region.

The BIOT post office functions both as a civilian post office and a British Forces Post Office (BFPO). Sure, a telecommunications company, runs the BIOT post office in addition to providing internet and cell phone service. U.S. military and government personnel also have access to the Fleet Post Office (FPO) on Diego Garcia, which functions as a U.S. Post Office. The FPO on Diego Garcia is the only U.S. Post Office in the Indian Ocean. Access to the FPO for other personnel is based on a combination of their job assignment and security clearance.