The agreement follows 13 rounds of consultations that began in 2022, after Mauritius’ sovereignty claims were recognized by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the United Nations General Assembly in 2019 and 2021.
The World Court, known as the ICJ, is the United Nations’ main judicial organ that adjudicates disputes between nations.
It was discovered that before granting Mauritius independence in 1968, Britain had illegally separated from Mauritius and formed a new colony in the Chagos Islands, named the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Britain initially rejected the United Nations judgment and the court’s judgment seeking the return of the islands to Mauritius, arguing that the ICJ’s judgment was merely an advisory opinion.
Forced relocation of islanders
When dividing the island from Mauritius, Britain expelled between 1,500 and 2,000 islanders to lease Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos archipelago, to the United States for military use, and the two allies have since jointly operated it. are.
According to reports, Britain falsely declared that Chagos had no permanent residents to avoid having to report its colonial rule to the United Nations. In fact, the Chagossian community has lived in Chagos for centuries.
British and American governments reportedly forcibly evicted Chagossians from 1967 to 1973, not only in Diego García, but also in Perros Baños and Salomon.
The campaign challenging British ownership of the Chagos Islands also includes Mauritius’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Jagdish Kunjul, as Mauritius raises its flag over Perros Banhos Atoll in a ceremony in February 2022. This is the first time since Mauritius led an expedition to the Chagos Islands. Expulsion.
new agreement
Under Thursday’s agreement, Britain will continue to maintain control of the Anglo-American military base in Diego Garcia.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the British government had secured the future of the military base “as well as securing our long-term relationship with Mauritius, a close Commonwealth partner”.
However, reports say many Chagossians remain unhappy with the UK government’s failure to consult them before Thursday’s announcement.
Chagossian Voices, a community organization for Chagossians based in the UK and several other countries where islanders have settled, says that “the Chagossian community has been excluded from the negotiations” and that they are “undermining our own future and our It regrets that the country remains powerless and voiceless in determining its future. Motherland.”
“The views of the island’s indigenous Chagossians have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand their full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty,” they added.
