The United Kingdom (UK) has announced that it will transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, resolving a decades-long dispute over the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Story Summary:
- The United Kingdom has agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after decades of negotiations.
- The islands, including the strategic Diego Garcia atoll, have been at the centre of a long-standing sovereignty dispute.
- The UK’s decision to return the islands marks the end of more than 50 years of controversy.
United Kingdom to hand over sovereignty of contentious island to Mauritius
This decision follows years of diplomatic pressure from Mauritius and growing isolation for the UK in international forums.
According to a joint statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, the agreement demonstrates a commitment to peaceful dispute resolution and global cooperation.
However, the military base on Diego Garcia, a key strategic site used by the United States, will remain under US-UK control for 99 years under the terms of the agreement.
The deal also includes financial support from the UK to Mauritius, along with an infrastructure investment package.
Chagossians, forcibly removed from the islands in the 1960s and 70s, will be allowed to resettle on some of the islands, although not on Diego Garcia.
What is the history of the Chagos Islands?
The Chagos Islands have been a source of contention since the 1960s when the UK, under a secret deal with the United States, agreed to lease Diego Garcia for use as a military base.
As part of this arrangement, more than 1,000 Chagossians were forcibly evicted from the islands and relocated to Mauritius, Seychelles, and the UK.
Mauritius has long argued that the Chagos Islands were illegally separated from its territory before gaining independence in 1968.
Over the years, international pressure on the UK grew, with United Nations bodies, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ruling in favour of Mauritius’s claim and calling on the UK to return the islands.
The UK’s insistence on holding onto the islands, which it referred to as the British Indian Ocean Territory, had increasingly left it isolated diplomatically.
In recent years, African nations and European countries, particularly after Brexit, shifted their support to Mauritius, intensifying the pressure on the UK to resolve the issue.
The historic agreement comes as both nations seek to move past colonial legacies and address the grievances of Chagossians, some of whom remain divided on the future of the islands.
Many Chagossians have advocated for a right to return, while others are more focused on securing their rights in their current countries of residence.