Historic uk-mauritius deal opens door for chagossian return and protects massive marine reserve

After six decades of exile, the Chagossian people may finally return home under a groundbreaking sovereignty agreement between the UK and Mauritius. The deal, signed in May and awaiting UK ratification, transfers control of the Chagos Archipelago from Britain to Mauritius, potentially ending one of the most prolonged displacement stories in modern history.

In the 1960s, the UK forcibly removed approximately 2,000 Chagossians from their Indian Ocean homeland to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia, the archipelago’s largest island. Families were scattered across Mauritius and other nations, creating generations of refugees longing to return to their ancestral islands.

At a June gathering in Mauritius, around 300 Chagossians assembled at the Marie Lisette Talate Community Centre with mixed emotions—celebrating the prospect of return while mourning decades of separation from their homeland. Olivier Bancoult, who leads the Chagos Refugees Group and whose mother was born on the Chagossian island of Peros Banhos, addressed the crowd about preparations for potential resettlement.

The agreement also has significant environmental implications, as the Chagos Archipelago encompasses one of the world’s largest marine protected areas—a massive no-fishing zone that has allowed coral reefs and marine ecosystems to flourish undisturbed. The sovereignty transfer raises questions about how this critical marine sanctuary will be managed under Mauritian control, balancing conservation needs with the Chagossian community’s right to return home.