UN urges UK to negotiate new Chagos deal allowing islanders to return
A little island in the Indian Ocean with great geopolitical significance: to who does sovereignty of the Chagos Islands belong? The British government closed a deal to hand over the Islands back to Mauritius, but UN experts critise the deal over its treatment of the Chagossian people.
London (PA Media/dpa) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces calls to suspend his deal handing the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after UN experts criticised its treatment of the Chagossian people.
The deal, agreed last month after long-running negotiations, returns sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, but will see the United Kingdom lease back a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
But a panel of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said retaining the base and continuing to bar Chagossians from Diego Garcia "appears to be at variance with the Chagossians' right to return."
The Chagossians were expelled from the islands between 1965 and 1973 to make way for the joint UK-US base and have not been allowed to return.
Criticism from UN experts
Although the UK-Mauritius deal includes a €42 million (£40 million) trust fund for the benefit of the Chagossians, the UN experts expressed concern that this would not provide an "effective remedy" for the islanders.
They also criticised an apparent lack of consultation of the islanders prior to the deal, saying: "We are gravely concerned about the lack of meaningful participation of Chagossians in processes that have led to the agreement."
The experts added: "In light of these significant concerns, we call for the ratification of the agreement to be suspended and for a new agreement to be negotiated that fully guarantees the rights of the Chagossian people to return to all islands of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia."
A deal a long time in the making
The deal follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice saying the islands should be handed over to Mauritius.
As well as the fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay at least €141 million (£120 million) a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least €15 billion (£13 billion) in cash terms.
The deal also includes provisions preventing development on the rest of the archipelago without the UK's consent, which the government has argued will prevent countries such as China setting up their own facilities.
The agreement has also been backed by the United States.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.
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