Chagossians seek legal action against UK over sovereignty deal

Two women born in the Chagos Islands want to take the British government to court over its plan to hand the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, their lawyers have said.

Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who are both British citizens, say that UK ministers have unlawfully excluded Chagossians from discussions about their homeland's future.

The Chagos Islands' inhabitants were forcibly displaced in the 1960s and 1970s to make way for a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the territory.

They and their descendants now predominantly live in the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles.

In early October, the UK government announced a preliminary deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former British colony which has long claimed the territory as its own. Under the agreement, Britain would retain the military base on Diego Garcia.

But Chagossians like Dugasse and Pompe believe their voices have been ignored.

“Chagossians were removed from their place of birth, without their consultation, and have been treated badly for 60 years,” said Pompe.

“Since then we have been struggling to understand why we have been treated so poorly by the British government. I want to stay British and I also want the right to return to the Chagos Islands,” she added.

The women’s lawyers have sent a legal letter to the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which has been given until 25 March to respond.

The British government's plan to hand the archipelago to Mauritius has stalled because of the Trump administration's concerns about the deal.

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has previously described the plan as “a serious threat” to US national security, given that Diego Garcia hosts around 2,500 military personnel.

The US has said it considers the site “an all but indispensable platform” for security operations across the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.

Complications have also arisen following a change in government in Mauritius, as well as disagreements over financial compensation for the lease of Diego Garcia to the UK.

The sovereignty of the Chagos Islands has been the subject of international legal disputes for years. 

In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said in a non-binding statement that Britain had unlawfully detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, before granting the latter independence in 1968.

The UN has also urged the UK to hand the territory over to Mauritius.

Under the proposed agreement, a resettlement fund would be created to help displaced islanders return to the Chagos Islands. However, specific details of the scheme remain unclear.