Liseby Elysé

Liseby Elysé MSK (née Bertrand; born 24 July 1953) is a Mauritian activist of Chagossian origin. She is known for her testimony before the International Court of Justice in 2019 in the case between Mauritius and the United Kingdom concerning sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.

Biography

Youth in the Chagos Islands and life in Mauritius Liseby Bertrand was born on 24 July 1953 on Île du Coin, the most densely populated island of the Peros Banhos atoll, in the Chagos archipelago. At the time, the Chagos Islands were under British sovereignty and administered from the colony of Mauritius.

Like most Chagossians, she is a descendant of slaves brought to Chagos from the African coast. The conditions on the boat were miserable, and Liseby suffered a miscarriage shortly after arrival. According to her, this was due to the trauma and sorrow of the journey. but was nevertheless present at the hearing in The Hague in September 2018, as part of the Mauritian delegation. On 25 February 2019, the Court handed down its decision in its advisory opinion, recognising on the one hand the forced expulsion of the Chagossians, and on the other hand requiring the end of British administration of the Chagos Islands in order to achieve decolonization. On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly took up this advisory opinion and put to the vote a resolution calling for the return of Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and the resettlement of the Chagossians in their archipelago. The resolution was adopted by 116 votes to 6, but has never been implemented by the United Kingdom since.

In February 2022, Liseby took part, along with four other Chagossians, in a new journey to the northern atolls of the Chagos, Peros Banhos, Salomon and Blenheim Reef, but organised for the first time by the Mauritian authorities. The expedition, which included the presence of scientists, was intended to demarcate the maritime boundary between Mauritius and the Maldives, as well as disembarking at Peros Banhos and Salomon and planting a Mauritian flag there. The writer and international lawyer, who was involved in the Mauritian delegation, tells the story of the Chagossians' struggle all the way to the International Court of Justice, through the life of Liseby Elysé. At the end of 2022, on International Human Rights Day, she was made an honorary citizen of the city of Lyon. In 2023, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Olivier Bancoult, President of the Chagos Refugees Group.