UK hands back Chagos Islands to Mauritius

The UK pledged today to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following years of negotiations. The islands currently make up the British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT, often described as the last British colony in Africa. 

The territory’s largest island, Diego Garcia, hosts a joint US-UK military facility, which the US allegedly used to house and interrogate terror suspects during its post-9/11 wars. 

Starting in late 2021, hundreds of Sri Lankan migrants and asylum seekers arrived on Diego Garcia by boat, many of them fleeing persecution at home. Around 60 remain on the island, housed and fed by the BIOT administration in an enclosed camp. Dozens have participated in hunger strikes or attempted suicide to protest their alleged mistreatment by British authorities and G4S security guards brought in to supervise them.

Last month, a British judge travelled to the island to hold a trial in which the territory’s authorities were accused of detaining the asylum seekers illegally. Lawyers for the BIOT administration argued that US security concerns prevented them from granting the group freedom of movement, even after the judge ordered they be released on bail in April. The judge’s final decision is expected to be announced next week. 

The agreement between the UK and Mauritius will allow the US and the UK to maintain control over the military base on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years. President Joe Biden has applauded the agreement.

In announcing the accord, the UK and Mauritius said they would “address the wrongs of the past” committed against the native Chagossians, who were evicted from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the base.

Chagossians mainly live in Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the UK. Some want to return to their homeland, while others have spent years fighting for citizenship in the UK.

For more on the plight of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers on BIOT, read our coverage.