Muizzu Overhauls Chagos Commission Leadership a Week After Formation

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has made changes to the members of a special presidential commission established to investigate the manner in which the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government acted in the dispute over overlapping maritime boundaries with Mauritius in the southern waters of the Maldives, including the chairperson of the commission. These changes were made to the commission, which was established on the first day of this month, within just one week of its establishment. Under the new presidential decree, former President Kazi Ahmed Shakir and member Abdul Aziz Yusuf have been removed from the commission formed to examine the actions taken by the Maldives in Case No. 28 of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). In their place, Captain Ahmed Zubair and Aishath Fazna Ahmed have been newly appointed. Furthermore, Dr. Abdulsamad Mohamed, who was already a member when the commission was initially formed, has been appointed as the new chairperson. The following individuals will remain on the commission: Dr. Aminath Shafiyah Adam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Retired) Mohamed Sodig, Ahmed Ali Manik, and Fatimath Minhath Izzath. According to the presidential decree, the commission will continue to exist until the President determines that all work undertaken by the commission has been completed. According to information released by the Presidential Office, a report by an international team of experts highlighted that due to the actions of the then-government while the case was ongoing at ITLOS, a significant portion of the Maldives' maritime territory was lost, resulting in irreparable major damage to fishing and natural resources. Examining whether there was legal negligence by state employees, advisors, and relevant senior officials in this matter, and advising on measures to be taken against responsible parties, are among the main responsibilities of this commission. After opposing the recognition of Mauritius' sovereign authority over the Chagos or Fawadda islands, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius on August 22, 2022, reversing this stance. This letter was made public by the current government on December 19, 2023. Following ITLOS's decision on dividing 95,563 square kilometers of overlapping economic zones between the two countries, 47,232 square kilometers were allocated to the Maldives and 45,331 square kilometers to Mauritius. Fawadda, located approximately 500 kilometers south of the Maldives, is a region historically connected to the Maldives where Maldivians have traditionally gone fishing since ancient times. In connection with the ITLOS decision, the ruling party PNC has always maintained that this entire area rightfully belongs to the Maldives and that some of the Maldives' maritime territory was lost due to the actions of the previous government.