UN calls for urgent relocation of 61 asylum seekers stranded on Indian Ocean island

Damning report says group that has experienced abuse and arbitrary detention falls under ‘effective control’ of UK government

A group of 61 asylum seekers who have been stranded on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia for more than two years should be urgently relocated after experiencing violence, abuse and arbitrary detention, according to a UN report.

The inspection report from UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – marked “confidential” and disclosed to the Guardian and the BBC by the supreme court of British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), is the first to be carried out since a group of asylum seekers, mainly Tamils from Sri Lanka, arrived on the island in October 2021. They were rescued and taken to Diego Garcia after a boat they were travelling in, hoping to reach Canada to claim asylum, got into difficulty.