The UK Handing Over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius Is Not Decolonisation, But the Next Chapter Of British Colonialism

By Philip Vogsted, MSc Politics and International Relations 28/10/2024

The UK’s decision to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been celebrated as a historic victory for the global decolonisation movement. British and international media have framed the story as the end of the UK’s colonial presence in Africa. Yet, beneath the surface lies a different story - one revealing that British colonialism in Africa is hardly a thing of the past. On the contrary, colonialism only continues in a new form. 

On 3rd October, the British and Mauritian governments issued a joint statement announcing that the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, currently administered by the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory, would be transferred to Mauritius. The agreement, hailed as a milestone marking the end of the UK’s history as a colonial power in Africa, might at first glance appear as a constructive next step in the process of decolonisation. However, the deal guarantees that the archipelago’s largest island, Diego Garcia, will remain under UK control for at least the next 99 years. Diego Garcia has been home to a vital military airbase leased to the US by the UK since 1966. Omitting Diego Garcia from the deal ensures that the military base stays well out of Mauritius’ hands and firmly within the grasp of Western powers.

The omission of Diego Garcia from the sovereignty handover to Mauritius is not a footnote in the agreement, but instead the very core of the Chagos Islands issue. Diego Garcia has played a critical role in American and British military operations in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Africa, including during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it an indispensable part of American and British security architecture in the southern hemisphere. The UK has faced increasing international opposition to its administration of the islands for years, as well as legal battles launched by Mauritius. For the UK, maintaining control over Diego Garcia has been a non-negotiable and a central motivation to keeping the islands. While the UK now relinquishes its control of the Chagos Islands, the deal guarantees a continuation of American and British military domination in the region. 

At the same time, the negotiations leading up to the so-called historic agreement have thoroughly sidelined the displaced Chagossian people - the population of the archipelago. The Chagossian people were forcibly removed from the islands by the UK between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military base. In a move that Human Rights Watch has described as a crime against humanity, the former islanders were dispersed to Mauritius and the Seychelles. In Mauritius, many experienced marginalisation, racism and poverty. The UK’s promise to “address wrongs of the past” seems empty when read through the lens of Chagossian demands for a rightful return to their homeland. The islands were home to the Chagossian people for almost 300 years, after their ancestors were transported there by the French as slave labourers. The group is recognised as an indigenous people by entities such as the United Nations. For this community, the opportunity to return to their home remains out of reach, and the deal between the UK and Mauritius does nothing to change that. 

So what is really behind Britain’s move? Far from a genuine attempt at decolonisation, this deal seems more like a strategic calculation to rid the UK of a long-standing headache. For years, the UK has faced growing international pressure and condemnation, with the United Nations and International Court of Justice ruling that the UK’s claim over the islands is illegal. By transferring nominal sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius, the UK has found a way to save face, avoid further legal battles, and patch up relations with the Global South. However, in doing so, it has prioritised its own security interests over true justice for the Chagossians and atoning for the injustices of its colonial past. 

Mauritius also has its own reasons for agreeing to this deal. For years it has sought to regain control of the Chagos Islands, seeing it as a matter of national pride and territorial sovereignty. However, with the agreement to leave Diego Garcia under UK-US control, Mauritius has essentially agreed to compromise on the most significant part of the territory. Western powers remain the real beneficiaries, with their military foothold in the region assured. 

Even within the UK, the debate over the future of the Chagos Islands has paid little attention to the issue of decolonisation. In fact, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other Conservatives have criticised the deal, accusing the government of “weakness” and “surrendering” British interests. Public discourse surrounding the deal has failed to centre the displaced Chagossians, whose injustice has been overshadowed by geopolitical interests. While the UK government may now claim to be rectifying its colonial wrongs, the reality is that the military occupation of Diego Garcia will continue for at least the next century, preventing the full return of the island to its people. 

The deal is a stark reminder that modern decolonisation is far more complex than a simple transfer of sovereignty. While the return of the islands to Mauritius might be framed as a step in the right direction, it’s clear that true decolonisation has yet to be realised for the Chagossians. For this community, the deal represents yet another chapter in a long history of displacement, exclusion, and neglect. 

As we can learn from the Chagos Islands, decolonisation is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process. It requires more than the mere ceding of territory - it demands justice, restitution, and the restoration of rights to the communities most affected by colonialism. The handover of the Chagos islands to Mauritius may be celebrated by some, but the struggles for true decolonisation and justice for the Chagossian people remain far from over.