The UK government agreed it - now the deal must let the Chagossians return

On 22 May, Mauritius and Britain announced an agreement recognising that the Indian Ocean country “is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago in its entirety”.

- Philippe Sands

The treaty gives effect to a 2019 opinion of the international court of justice (ICJ) and could in time be seen as a landmark. Recognising “the wrongs of the past”, it aims to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius. Mauritius can implement a programme of Chagossian resettlement to most of the Chagos islands, from which they were forcibly removed by Britain between 1967 and 1973. It allows for the conservation of a remarkable and pristine maritime space, and it secures the long-term and effective operation of the military base at Diego Garcia. At a time of significant challenge to a rules-based order, it commits both parties, in its implementation, to “compliance with international law”.

Sixty years have passed since Harold Wilson’s government dismembered the colony of Mauritius. “Frighten him with hope,” Wilson was advised before meeting with the premier of Mauritius, Sir Seewoosagur, in September 1965. Wilson did. He dangled the carrot of independence to procure “consent” to Chagos being detached from Mauritius and remaining under British rule as a new colony, known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.