Chagos sovereignty deal stalls amid fears of further delays

Renewed talks over the stalled UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos archipelago have revived hopes of eventual resettlement, but many displaced Chagossians say time is running out. In Mauritius, campaigners described the delay as deeply painful for older islanders who fear they may never return to their homeland. The treaty, signed in May 2025, has still not entered into force.

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The agreement would transfer sovereignty over the archipelago to Mauritius while allowing the United Kingdom to retain rights over the Diego Garcia military base for an initial 99-year period. It also provides for the resettlement of Chagossians on islands other than Diego Garcia. According to Olivier Bancoult of the Chagos Refugees Group, the delay has left elderly islanders facing the prospect of never seeing the islands again.

The issue remains tied to a long-running dispute over the islands, which were separated from Mauritius by Britain in 1965, three years before Mauritian independence. Britain later established a military base with the United States on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group. Between 1968 and 1973, Britain removed an estimated 1,400 to 1,700 Chagossians from the islands, and many were resettled in Mauritius and the Seychelles, with others later moving to the United Kingdom.

British authorities also made it illegal to remain on or return to the islands without permission. Chagossian campaigners say international legal rulings support their position. Bancoult pointed to the 2019 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which favoured the return of the archipelago to Mauritius, and to a 2021 judgment by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

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He said the 2025 treaty also backed Mauritius exercising sovereignty over the archipelago. For campaigners, the current delay is not only a diplomatic issue but also a question of whether displaced families will have a realistic chance to return. The treaty was signed on 22 May 2025, but it has not yet taken effect.

The article says the delay has persisted amid opposition from US President Donald Trump, whose stance has complicated the process. That has left the agreement in limbo despite renewed discussions, and it has added uncertainty to plans that were meant to open a path for resettlement on islands other than Diego Garcia. For Chagossians, the dispute is also bound up with identity and memory.

Bancoult recalled a funeral in which sand from Chagos was scattered into an elder's tomb to honour a wish to die in the homeland. Such accounts underline how the passage of time is shaping the debate, especially for older displaced islanders. The treaty's supporters argue that it offers a practical route to address sovereignty and resettlement together, while preserving the military status of Diego Garcia.

What remains unclear is when, or whether, the treaty will finally enter into force. The article does not give a timetable for the next stage of the process, and it is not clear whether the current talks will resolve the political obstacles. For now, the key question is whether the delay can be overcome before more of the displaced generation dies without returning to the islands.

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