LEGAL STRUGGLE

From 1965 when the UK illegally excised the Chagos from the Mauritian territory, prior to granting Independence to the latter; and this, until 22nd May 2025, that is 60 years later, when the UK returned Sovereignty over the Chagos to Mauritius, admittedly under certain conditions, there has been a long and arduous legal battle between the Chagos Refugees, the Mauritian Government and the British Authorities, in the British Courts, as well as at the United Nations and at the International Court of Justice.

The Chagos Archipelago Legal Struggle (1968 – June 2025):

A 60-Year Theatre of the Absurd

From 1968 to 2025, the dispute over the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago and the rights of its exiled people has unfolded as a protracted legal, political, and moral crisis—one that starkly exposes the United Kingdom’s contradictory post-colonial stance and its persistent defiance of international norms.

1968–1982:

The Roots of Displacement and Denial

1968: Mauritius gains independence from Britain, but the Chagos Archipelago—illegally detached in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)—remains under British control.
1968–1973: Over 1,500 Chagossians are systematically uprooted and exiled to Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia. The UK government, in collusion with the US, falsely labels them as transient workers rather than permanent inhabitants, denying their rights.
1982: A small compensation package is offered to Chagossians in Mauritius, but only in exchange for their signing a waiver renouncing further claims—a document many signed unknowingly or under pressure.

1998–2008:

Legal Victories Undermined

1998: Olivier Bancoult, the Leader of the Chagos Refugee Group, initiates legal action in the UK High Court to assert the right of return.
2000: The High Court rules in favor of the Chagossians’ right to return to the outer islands.
2004: In response, the UK government nullifies this judgment through Orders in Council—a rarely used royal prerogative—bypassing Parliament and effectively re-banning resettlement.
2006–2008: The Court of Appeal reaffirms the Chagossians' rights, but in 2008 the House of Lords (then the UK's highest court) overturns the rulings, siding with the government. Lord Hoffman, leading the majority, controversially justifies the expulsion on national security grounds.

2010–2019:

Internationalizing the Struggle

2010: The UK unilaterally declares the Chagos Marine Protected Area (MPA), further restricting access. Wikileaks later reveals it was a strategic ploy to prevent resettlement.
2015: The Chagossians take their fight to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which declines to hear the case on procedural grounds.
2017: Mauritius escalates the issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) through the UN General Assembly.
2019 (ICJ Advisory Opinion): The ICJ rules that the UK's continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago is unlawful and that the territory should be returned to Mauritius “as rapidly as possible.” It concludes that the decolonization of Mauritius was never lawfully completed.
2019 (UN General Assembly Resolution 73/295): A majority of nations demand UK compliance with the ICJ's opinion within six months. The UK refuses, calling the ruling “advisory, not binding,” thereby solidifying its isolation.

2020–2025:

Entrenchment and Emerging Shifts

2021: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recognizes Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos in a maritime boundary dispute with the Maldives.
2022–2023: Mauritius conducts a symbolic visit to the Chagos Islands with Chagossians aboard, flying the Mauritian flag and reaffirming their rights. The UK responds with diplomatic silence.
2023–2024: UK and Mauritius begin talks on sovereignty, but progress stalls amid reports of British reluctance to set binding timelines or address the right of return comprehensively.
June 2025: Despite ongoing international pressure and new momentum from academic, civil society, and regional actors, the UK maintains de facto control. Chagossians remain in legal limbo, their fundamental rights suspended in a theatre of imperial nostalgia.

A Theatre of the Absurd

Throughout this 60-year ordeal, the UK has repeatedly claimed to uphold rule of law, human rights, and decolonization—yet has resorted to manipulation of legal processes, selective use of international norms, and executive overreach to deny justice. This contradiction has rendered the Chagos saga an emblem of post-colonial absurdity: a world power weaponizing bureaucracy and delay against a small, dispossessed people.
In refusing to honor binding decisions, resorting to colonial-era instruments like Orders in Council, and rejecting moral accountability, Britain has not only undermined its global credibility but also perpetuated a modern injustice disguised in diplomatic language.
As of early-2025, while Mauritius has the law and most of the world on its side, the fate of the Chagossians still hinges on the UK’s political will—trapped, like their history, in an unresolved act of geopolitical theatre.

The 22nd May 2025 Agreement

On 22 May 2025, this long-standing dispute reached a historic turning point: the United Kingdom and Mauritius signed a long-awaited sovereignty agreement formally recognizing Mauritius’ full sovereignty over the entire Chagos Archipelago. The accord includes a substantial financial compensation package and grants the UK a 99-year lease to maintain the U.S. strategic military base on Diego Garcia. However, while this agreement marks a significant geopolitical and symbolic victory for Mauritius, it also embeds constraints: resettlement of Chagossians on the outer islands and any proposal for development on land or at sea will undergo a security review with inputs from the UK which holds veto power through a Joint Commission which will take ALL decisions. Thus, even in formal closure, elements of control and conditionality remain—ensuring that this theatre of the absurd closes not with full restitution, but with a cautious, politically negotiated compromise.

But, the Struggle Continues!

The Chagossians await a fair Compensation and their Resettlement in PEROS BANHOS and SALOMON.