Chagos Islands: Britain cedes sovereignty of last African colony to Mauritius

LONDON/PORT LOUIS: The British government announced it will cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending a decades-long dispute over Britain’s last African colony.

The agreement, however, will maintain a key United States-British military base in the archipelago.

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The Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, are a cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean. The largest of these islands, Diego Garcia, hosts a strategically positioned military base. The decision to evict the indigenous inhabitants to make way for the base’s construction has been a major source of contention.

In a joint statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said they had reached a “historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty” over the archipelago. The agreement is still subject to the finalisation of a treaty, but both sides vowed to move quickly.

As part of the deal, Britain will provide a financial support package to Mauritius, including annual payments and a partnership to build infrastructure. Starmer and Jugnauth also stated that they were committed to the “long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia,” which will include a 99-year lease for the island.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the agreement, stating that the military facility at Diego Garcia plays a “vital role in national, regional, and global security.”

The Chagossian community criticised the agreement, with many slamming the British government for not consulting them ahead of the announcement. The group stated that Chagossians “have learned this outcome from the media and remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland.”

The forced displacement of the Chagossian population in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the military base has been described as a “crime against humanity” by Human Rights Watch. In 2019, the International Court of Justice said that Britain’s continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago “constitutes a wrongful act.”

Mauritius has argued that it was forced to give away the islands in return for its own independence from Britain in 1968. The agreement follows two years of negotiations between the two countries.