The United Kingdom (UK) has agreed to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in Indian Ocean to Mauritius. The deal was announced jointly by the UK and Mauritius on 3 October, 2024.
Key points
- This agreement has ended the long-standing dispute over the United Kingdom’s last African colony, after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the UK unlawfully separated the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius before granting it independence.
- In 2019 and 2021, the ICJ, the United Nations General Assembly, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) supported Mauritius’ claim to sovereignty.
- As per the agreement, the UK will provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment.
- Mauritius will also be able to begin a programme of resettlement on the Chagos Islands.
- As part of the treaty, the UK will, however, keep control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
- In the past, the UK expelled 1,500 to 2,000 islanders to lease the island to the US for military purposes, with both countries jointly operating the base.
- The treaty also allows the right to return to all islands in the Chagos archipelago, except Diego Garcia.
- In Diego Garcia, the UK will ensure operation of the military base for “an initial period” of 99 years.
- The UK, which has controlled the Chagos Islands since 1814, separated the islands from Mauritius in 1965 — three years before Mauritius gained independence — to establish the British Indian Ocean Territory.
- Diego Garcia is nicknamed the “Footprint of Freedom” both because of its shape and its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, within striking distance of Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
