After decades of disputes and a ruling by the International Court of Justice, the United Kingdom has returned the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. In exchange, the Diego García Atoll military base, managed by the United States and the United Kingdom, will continue to operate without challenge as to its legality.
About 4,000 people live in the archipelago, colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British since the 16th century, but many original inhabitants were expelled due to base construction in the 1970s , ruled the International Court of Justice. asked the United Kingdom to relinquish control of the archipelago because it believed that it had not been legally separated from Mauritius in 1968, three years after that country’s declaration of independence. The legal battle was led by former residents of Diego García, who were forced to leave the area and sent to the Seychelles Islands or Mauritius.
Migration route
The current British Labor government says the deal will bring legal stability to the grassroots and also facilitate migration cooperation with Mauritius, a member of the British Commonwealth. Since 2021, according to the government, certain migrants “in very vulnerable situations” who had requested asylum in territory held by the United Kingdom had arrived in the archipelago.
“This government inherited a situation in which the security of long-term operations at the Diego García military base was under threat, with sovereignty disputes and ongoing legal proceedings,” the British foreign secretary said on Thursday , David Lammy. “Today’s agreement secures this military base for the future. “This will strengthen our role in ensuring global security, removing the possibility of the Indian Ocean being a dangerous route for illegal migration to the UK, and strengthen our long-standing relationship with Mauritius. »
The Conservative government began negotiations for this return in 2022, but failed to conclude the agreement after a dozen rounds of negotiations. Former Foreign Secretary and now one of the candidates to lead the Conservative Party, James Cleverly, criticized the deal and accused the current government of not being “patriotic”. His rivals did the same amid a leadership campaign, which MPs will decide. preservatives at the end of this month.
