Fri May 23 16:29:21 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
The UK government has reached an agreement with Mauritius to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in exchange for a 99-year lease on the crucial US-UK military base on Diego Garcia. The agreement includes a substantial annual payment from the UK to Mauritius and a trust fund for the Chagossian diaspora. While the agreement allows for the resettlement of Chagossians on most of the islands, it excludes Diego Garcia, raising concerns from Human Rights Watch about entrenching their exile. The deal has faced legal challenges, with some Chagossians expressing concern about Mauritius’s past treatment of the community and questioning their ability to fairly manage the resettlement. The historical context involves the forced displacement of the Chagossian population by the UK to allow for the establishment of the US military base on Diego Garcia.
**News Article:**
**Chagos Islands Handover to Mauritius: A Colonial Crime, Says Human Rights Watch**
**London – May 23, 2025 -** In a controversial move, the UK government, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has finalized an agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The deal, announced on Thursday, secures the UK’s continued access to the strategically vital US-UK military base on Diego Garcia for the next 99 years, in exchange for an annual payment of £101 million ($136 million).
However, the agreement has sparked criticism from Human Rights Watch, which calls the ongoing displacement of the Chagossian people an “ongoing colonial crime against humanity.” While the deal includes provisions for resettling Chagossians on many of the islands in the archipelago, it notably excludes Diego Garcia, the largest island and home to the US military base.
“While the agreement may result in some Chagossians returning to some islands… it also appears to entrench their exile from Diego Garcia,” stated Clive Baldwin of Human Rights Watch.
The UK forcibly displaced the indigenous Chagossians, primarily to Mauritius and Seychelles, in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for the US military base. The current agreement includes a £40 million ($54 million) trust fund intended to support the diaspora of approximately 10,000 Chagossians.
The deal was almost derailed by a last-minute legal injunction filed by Bertrice Pompe, a Chagos Islands-born British national. Pompe, representing some members of the Chagossian community, raised concerns about the potential for discrimination from Mauritius, citing past issues with the distribution of financial support meant for the islanders. She argued that Mauritius has demonstrated a history of mistreatment.
The Chagossian community has long fought for the right to return to their homeland and have pursued numerous legal challenges in British courts. With this new agreement, the hope for a complete return to all the islands, including Diego Garcia, remains elusive, underscoring the complex and long-lasting repercussions of colonial decisions.
First Piper 