Changes to leadership and members of Chagos inquiry commission a week into inception

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has reconstituted the special Presidential Commission established to investigate the previous MDP administration's handling of the maritime boundary dispute between the Maldives and Mauritius over the southern territorial waters.

The changes to the commission's membership, including its leadership, come just one week after it was initially formed on the first of this month.

Under a new presidential decree issued to review the Maldives' actions in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Case No. 28, the President has removed former Commission president Kashima Ahmed Shakir and member Abdul Azeez Yoosuf.

Captain Ahmed Zubair and Aishath Fazna Ahmed have been appointed to replace them. Dr. Abdul Muhsin Mohamed, who served as a member of the original commission, has been appointed as its new president.

Following the changes, the commission comprises Chairperson Dr. Abdul Muhsin Mohamed, Dr. Aminath Shafiya Adam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Retired) Mohamed Sadiq, Ahmed Ali Manik, Fathimath Minhath Izzath, Captain Ahmed Zubair and Aishath Fazna Ahmed.

According to the presidential decree, the commission will remain operational until the President determines that all its assigned tasks have been completed.

The President's Office stated that a report prepared by a team of international experts who examined the case found that the previous administration's conduct during the ITLOS proceedings had resulted in the loss of a significant portion of the Maldives' maritime area. The report also highlighted that this had caused irreparable damage to the country's fisheries and natural resources.

Accordingly, the commission's primary mandate includes investigating whether state employees, advisers or senior officials were legally negligent in handling the matter and recommending appropriate action against those found responsible.

The dispute stems from a policy shift on August 22, 2022, when former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius, changing the Maldives' long-standing position of refusing to recognize Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. The current administration officially released the letter on December 19, 2023. Following the ITLOS ruling on the overlapping 95,563-square-kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Maldives was awarded 47,232 square kilometres, while Mauritius received 45,331 square kilometres.

Located approximately 500 kilometres south of the Maldives, the Chagos area has historically been used by Maldivian fishermen and maintains significant historical ties to the country.

The ruling People's National Congress (PNC) has consistently maintained that the entire disputed area rightfully belongs to the Maldives and argues that the previous government's actions directly led to the loss of Maldivian maritime territory.