New Delhi: The United Kingdom and Mauritius have jointly announced that the UK is giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands on the Indian Ocean to Mauritius.
In what the BBC has described as a “historic move,” the UK will hand over the cluster of islands after decades of negotiations which often became fractious.
The Chagos Islands contain the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, which is used by the US government as a military base after the UK separated it from Mauritius in 1965. Mauritius became independent of the UK in 1968. Mauritius will not have control of the base, which will continue to be under the US.
Chagos, which was called the British Indian Ocean Territory by the UK, is often described as “Britain’s last African colony.” The Guardian noted in its report that the UK’s move to expel Chagossians in the 1960-70s is called a “crime against humanity.”
India has supported the Mauritian bid for control of Chagos. In 2018, India told the International Court of Justice had that “historical facts” confirm Mauritius always exercised sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. The ICJ ruled against the UK’s control of the islands.
In 2019, as many as 116 countries of the United Nations General Assembly voted that the UK hand back the islands within six months. Six countries voted against it, including the UK – the US, Australia, Israel, the Maldives, and Hungary.
In July this year, India external affairs minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s support to Mauritius on the issue, with the move being appreciated by the island nation.
In a joint statement, the respective prime ministers of the UK and Mauritius, Keir Starmer and Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, said a final treaty will be completed as quickly as possible.
The terms of the agreement between Mauritius and the United Kingdom are as follows:
• UK returns sovereignty of Chagos, including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius
• For an initial period of 99 years, the United Kingdom will be allowed to continue the operation of the Diego Garcia military base, but under Mauritian sovereign rights
• Mauritius is free to initiate the rehousing programme for the Chagossians in the archipelago, except in Diego Garcia
• The agreement includes British financial support for Mauritius, including an annual payment also aimed at boosting the Mauritian economy
• Environmental protection, maritime security, the fight against illegal fishing, drugs and human trafficking also in the terms of the agreement, including the creation of a protected Mauritian marine park.
The official statement notes that the political agreement concluded between Mauritius and the UK “enjoyed the full support and assistance of the United States and India.”
