Seven Nobel Laureates, including human rights activist and Nobel Peace Laureate Tawakkol Karman, have urged their fellow Nobel Laureate President Barack Obama to use his last days in office to help end the exile of the Chagossian people.

“Only you now have the power to help the Chagossians return to their ancestral homeland”, the Laureates tell President Obama. By helping the people return home, Obama can “cement his legacy as a defender of human rights,” the Nobel winners’ letter points out.   

The Nobel Laureates have noted that Chagossians are not asking Obama to close or alter the military installation: “They are only asking to return and live in peaceful coexistence with the base.”

The letter’s signatories are Tawakkol Karman, Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Dr. Yu Joe Huang, Dr. Stephen P. Myers, and Dr. Edward L. Vine. 

They ask Obama to take five steps including “to publicly state that the U.S. does not oppose the Chagossians returning to their islands”; “to recognize Chagossians’ basic right to live in their homeland with equal rights to compete for civilian jobs on the base”; and “to provide reasonable assistance for Chagossians’ resettlement.”

“You have the power to show the world that the U.S. upholds basic human rights,” the letter concludes. “Please help ensure that justice is done for the Chagossians.”

Olivier Bancoult, Chair of the Chagos Refugees Group, commented on the letter:

"We hope that as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, President Barack Obama will pay attention to his seven fellow Peace Prize winners and, before leaving the White House, correct the injustice committed against Chagossians.”