The UK announced on Thursday that it will transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, now ruled as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control.
A joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth hails the accord as a “historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago,” which will mark the end of British control over the islands. The UK-US military base on the archipelago’s principal island of Diego Garcia will remain operational for an initial period of 99 years to ensure its continued role in regional and global security. The UK will be “authorised to exercise the sovereign rights of Mauritius” on Diego Garcia. The decision follows two years of negotiations over the future of the islands between the two nations.
In addition to the transfer of sovereignty, the UK will provide a financial package to Mauritius to boost economic development and fund strategic projects. The UK and Mauritius will, more broadly, “cooperate on environmental protection, maritime security, combating illegal fishing, irregular migration, and drug and people trafficking within the Chagos Archipelago, with the shared objective of securing and protecting one of the world’s most important marine environments.”
The Chagos Archipelago, once home to a small indigenous population, was forcibly cleared by the UK in the late 1960s to make way for the construction of the military base on Diego Garcia, leased to the US. The removal of over 1,000 Chagossians has been a point of contention for decades, with many descendants continuing to fight for the right to return to their ancestral land. Under the new agreement, Mauritius will be free to begin a resettlement program on islands in the archipelago, excluding Diego Garcia. The UK has also committed to establishing a trust fund for the benefit of the Chagossians, addressing what the statement refers to as “the wrongs of the past.”
Prior to the negotiations, the UK faced growing diplomatic isolation over its claim to the islands. In 2019, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution following an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stating that the UK’s ongoing occupation of the Chagos Islands was illegal and calling for the archipelago to be returned to Mauritius. UN delegates have urged the UK to comply with the ruling. During negotiations, many Chagossians were frustrated by the lack of direct involvement in determining their future. The agreement pledges efforts to “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians.”
