The UK and Mauritius announced on 3 October 2024 that they had come to an agreement whereby the UK recognizes the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, primarily known for its main island, Diego Garcia, the home to the most strategic US military base outside the US.
Upon granting independence to Mauritius, the UK had imposed as a condition that it shall continue to hold on to the Chagos Islands until such time as necessary. Mauritius has been continuously asserting its sovereignty on the islands but could never exercise any real and effective control over them. The International Court of Justice of the UN ruled, in the form of an advisory opinion in 2019, that the UK must surrender the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as, until it does so, the decolonization of Mauritius would not have been completed. The UK started by rejecting the ruling, but was facing growing criticisms for its apparent disregard for the rule of law.
Sivakumaren (Robin) Mardemootoo, Managing Partner at Dentons in Mauritius, celebrates this as a historical milestone; he has been advising the Chagos Islanders since 1997 and accompanied them through their journey in the UK, US and other international courts.
“The Chagos Islanders had been forcefully removed from their islands between 1965 and 1971 and dumped in Mauritius and the Seychelles. The circumstances of their removal were inhumane and there have been strong accusations of racism and degrading treatments levelled against the UK and the US governments by several human rights agencies, leading to several historic judgments,” he commented.
Robin Mardemootoo praises the courage and determination of his clients led by Olivier Bancoult and his Chagos Refugees Group and avers that were it not for them, Mauritius would not have been here today. “They have litigated against the UK and the US for nearly 30 years in what was a David v. Goliath war, causing confidential and otherwise secret documents to be brought to light through discovery, disclosing the deceptive and manipulative practices of the British and American administrations to forcefully remove the islanders, creating worldwide awareness of the tragedy. This agreement finallysatisfies the two claims which the islanders always had: a resettlement on their islands and compensation for the wrongdoings”. Robin salutes the architect behind the UK proceedings, Richard Gifford, and the inspired guidance of Michael Tigar in the US.
