The United Nations has backed a motion censuring Britain's administration of the Chagos Islands.

It has called for the UK to end its administration of the Indian Ocean island chain - and for them to be reunified with neighbouring Mauritius within six months.

The archipelago is made up of 58 islands covering some 640,000 sq km of ocean, located approximately halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.

The UN General Assembly voted to condemn the UK over the issue. There were 116 votes for the motion, with more than 50 abstentions.

There were just five votes against - including the UK, the United States and Hungary.

The resolution is not binding.

The vote followed on from an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the end of February.

It stated that the UK was "under an obligation" to end its administration of the islands "as rapidly as possible".

Location of the Chagos Islands | Image: UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The court said that ending UK control was a necessary step to full de-colonisation of Mauritius in a manner consistent with the right of peoples to self-determination.

The UK retained sovereignty over the islands after Mauritius gained its independence from Britain in 1968.

This followed a reported compensation deal between the two nations.

The islands have since been used for defence purposes by the UK and the United States, which established a military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

The entire Chagossian population was forcibly removed from the territory between 1967 and 1973 and prevented from returning.

The islands are known by the UK Foreign Office as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Access to the islands is restricted and a permit is required in advance of travel.

There are no commercial flights and permits for yachts are only issued to allow safe passage through the Indian Ocean.

Access to Diego Garcia is only permitted to people with connections to either the military facility or to the island's administration.