LAST week, the government ignored a deadline to give up control of the Chagos Islands.

In response, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “It’s clear that in refusing to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and defying the UN general assembly and International Court of Justice (ICJ), this Conservative government shamefully considers itself to be above international law.”

As Jeremy also said in a letter to Boris Johnson this week on the matter, outlining his stance on this issue in more detail, the government’s stance will “set the UK against the entire continent of Africa, and dozens of countries from all continents which supported Mauritius at the [UN] general assembly and before the court [the ICJ], including India, Brazil and many Commonwealth countries.”

He also said this week that “a Labour government will end colonial rule. We immediately will enact our manifesto promise to allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed.”

Labour in government would then immediately implement the ICJ’s advisory opinion on completing the decolonisation of Mauritius and ensure the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants have the right to return.

As the pledge that Jeremy is referring to in the Labour Manifesto clearly states, Labour in government will “allow the people of the Chagos Islands and their descendants the right to return to the lands from which they should never have been removed.”

For Britain to do this would not only be in line with international law, it would be exactly the right position to both rectify a grave historical injustice, and help show a commitment to a new, ethical approach of respecting international law in international relations.

This pledge on the Chagos Islands is part of an important section of Labour’s Manifesto chapter on “a New Internationalism,” which recognises as part of our internationalism a responsibility to confront injustices we see today and to correct the injustices of the past.

As well as giving justice to the people of the Chagos Islands, in this regard Labour will also correct a great crime of the Tony Blair years in establishing a judge-led inquiry into our country’s alleged complicity in rendition and torture, and the operation of secret courts.

Furthermore, Labour will Issue a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and hold a public review into Britain’s role in the Amritsar massacre.

We will also uphold the human rights of the people of West Papua and recognise the rights of the people of Western Sahara.

This approach is defined as being part of a new, truly ethical approach to foreign policy, which will “put human rights, international law and tackling climate change at the heart of our international policies, and use our global influence to end the ‘bomb first, talk later’ approach to security.” 

Whatever the Tories say, Labour is clear that it will always do what is needed to protect the security of people here in Britain.

And Labour has concrete, value-based policies to do this, including to invest an additional £400 million in our diplomatic capacity to secure Britain’s role as a country that promotes peace, delivers ambitious global climate agreements and works through international organisations to secure political settlements to critical issues.

Alongside this, Labour will prioritise our responsibility to prevent conflict by investing in local capacities for peacebuilding in areas of conflict. At last we would have a government advocating for political, multilateral strategies for peace.

Jeremy Corbyn is also correct in recognising that our slavish following of US wars and foreign policy adventures this century has made Britain and the world a less safe place.

Labour’s progressive approach could give a lead to the world at a time when planet-wide challenges including conflict, climate change and a global economy rigged in favour of a tiny elite are driving global instability. 

It’s not just the Chagos Islanders that Johnson and the Tories have failed in office, just as 10 years of austerity have failed the people of Britain.

They have failed to play a constructive role in resolving the world’s most pressing humanitarian crises, including in Kashmir, Yemen and Myanmar, and have been complicit in the escalation of tensions with Iran. 

They have failed to stand up to Saudi war crimes in Yemen, sold spyware to Honduras and just recently welcomed the new coup regime in Bolivia, which already has the blood of dozens of people on its hands.

If re-elected, we can also be sure that Boris Johnson will follow US President Donald Trump’s reactionary agenda of backing illegal Israeli settlements being expanded and the so-called “Deal of the Century,” which ruins any chance of peace and a viable Palestinian state.

What is in common with all these foreign policy stances that Johnson and the Tories have taken is that they are based on what is best for their “special relationship” with Trump, rather than what is best for Britain’s security or global peace and stability.

Britain then deserves better than the Conservatives’ reckless approach to complex global challenges and the outsourcing of British foreign policy to the increasingly erratic and reactionary Trump administration.

In stark contrast to this, Corbyn-led Labour believes effective diplomacy can address the drivers of conflict and insecurity.

Therefore if we win on December 12, not only do the people of Britain win, it can also be a step towards building a better, fairer world.

Matt Willgress is the National Organiser of the Labour Assembly Against Austerity and editor of Labour Outlook , which you can find on Facebook here: mstar.link/LO and on Twitter via @LabourOutlook.