Mauritius Gains Full Freedom

Thursday’s agreement on Britain’s handover to Mauritius of the Chagos Islands—home to the UK-US joint Diego Garcia military base—ends a long and ugly colonial-cum-cold war chapter of illegal occupation. Under the deal, London will cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean Archipelago to Port Louis while retaining the territory on a 99-year lease at an annual average cost of 101 million pounds. The bilateral pact is consequent to a landmark February 2019 International Court of Justice (ICJ) unequivocal advisory opinion.

The court declared as unlawful the 1965 forcible detachment of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and its incorporation into a new colony, namely the British Indian Ocean Territory. In particular, the removal of Chagossians from the region constituted a violation of their right to self-determination and respect for the territorial integrity of Mauritius, the judges averred. To that extent, the decolonisation of Mauritius, and its independence in 1968, was not lawfully complete, and Britain had an obligation to terminate, “as rapidly as possible”, its administration of the Chagos Archipelago. The question of the resettlement of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, on the archipelago pertained to the human rights of the people concerned, the court found.

Subsequently, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding the unconditional end to Britain’s occupation of the Chagos Islands within 6 months and create the path for the resettlement process. In January 2021, Port Louis scored another victory when the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, in relation to a maritime boundary dispute with the Maldives, accepted the ICJ’s opinion on the question of sovereignty of the archipelago.

London’s Labour government has defended the latest deal as the only practical course for securing the Diego Garcia military base for its operations in the Indo-Pacific region against Chinese influence, given the close links between Beijing and Port Louis. Conversely, Britain’s main opposition Conservative Party and the far-right Reform Party of Nigel Farage have lambasted the government for the heavy burden imposed on the taxpayers, in their view, only to forsake a strategic asset. Crucially, the deal has been backed by the Trump administration and London’s three other partners besides Washington, in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

Better late than never, Britain has demonstrated through the agreement a readiness to honour its obligations under the rules-based international order. This is another feather in the cap of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who reversed the previous Conservative government’s decision to challenge the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s jurisdiction in issuing arrest warrants against top Israeli politicians. Also significant was the UK’s move to restore funding to the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, despite Tel Aviv’s allegations that the body’s staff were involved in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.