UK Gives Up Its Last Colony in Africa

The United Kingdom will return the Chagos Islands, its last African colony, to Mauritius. It has also announced that it will relinquish sovereignty over the group of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than 50 years.

The Guardian reports.

The statement was made by the Prime Ministers of Britain, Keir Starmer, and Mauritius, Pravind Jagnauth. It says that the agreement will ‘right the wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both sides to supporting the welfare of Chagossians’.

The agreement was signed after 13 rounds of negotiations, which began in 2022 following the recognition of Mauritius' sovereignty claims by the International Criminal Court, the UN General Assembly and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

According to the document, London will lease Diego Garcia Island for 99 years, which will allow the United States to maintain a military base there.

At the same time, the United Kingdom will provide Mauritius with a package of financial support, including annual payments and investments in infrastructure. Mauritius will also be able to launch a resettlement programme on the Chagos Islands.

The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, supported the agreement, describing it as ‘a clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome longstanding historical challenges to achieve peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes’.

The Guardian reports that the United Kingdom expelled the Chagossians from its territory in the 1960s and 1970s. It was called a crime against humanity.

The article says that London separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before the island nation declared independence in 1968. Mauritius claimed that it was illegally forced to give up the islands in exchange for independence.

The United Kingdom argued that Mauritius had no legitimate claim to the Chagos.