Territories and Dependencies of Mauritius - Disputes

Disputes

Mauritius sought to regain sovereignty, lost just before independence in 1968, over the Chagos Archipelago (1,931 kilometers to the northeast) which includes the Diego Garcia atoll, all of which comprise the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The Chagos has been part of Mauritius since the 18th century when the French first settled the islands. All of the islands forming part of the French colonial territory of Isle France (as Mauritius was then known) were ceded to the British in 1810 under the Act of Capitulation signed between the two countries. But when Mauritius became independent in 1968 the United Kingdom excised the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and leased Diego Garcia, the main island of the archipelago, to the United States under a 50-year lease (which expires in 2016 and comes up for renewal in 2014). After initially denying that the islands were inhabited, British officials forcibly expelled approximately 2,000 Chagossians who had lived on those islands for centuries to mainland Mauritius to allow the United States to establish a military base on Diego Garcia. Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited only by some 3,000 UK and US military and civilian contracted personnel.

The detachment of the Chagos was a clear violation of international law. United Nations' resolutions banned the dismemberment of colonial territories before independence. Mauritius has repeatedly asserted that the British claim that the Chagos Archipelago is one of its territories is a violation of law and of UN resolutions. The UK has stated that it has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Chagos but has also said that the Chagos will be returned to Mauritius once the islands are no longer required for defense purposes. Given the absence of any progress with the UK, Mauritius has decided to "internationalize" the dispute and take up the matter at all appropriate legal and political forums. The African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement have expressed unanimous support for Mauritius on the Chagos issue.

Today the exiled Chagossians are still fighting to go back to their homeland, claiming that the forced expulsion and dispossession (see Depopulation of Diego Garcia) was illegal.