Great Britain cedes colonial islands – southern Sweden

The British and Mauritian governments have announced that an agreement has been reached to hand over the long-disputed Chacos Islands to Mauritius.

The Chacos Islands consist of seven atolls located northeast of Mauritius in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Technically, if they were to be considered part of Mauritius, they could count as Britain's last African colony.

A group of scattered islands belonged to Mauritius when Mauritius was a British colony until the 1960s. In connection with Mauritius becoming independent, Great Britain annexed the Chacos Islands and retained control over them – then forcibly relocated their indigenous people, the Chacosians, to Mauritius.

Following this, the US and UK allies built one of their top secret military bases on the largest island, Diego Garcia. There, among other things, the US intelligence agency, the CIA, reportedly maintains a secret prison for people labeled as terrorists.

The foundation will remain under the same conditions as before.

“Today's deal secures this vital military base for the future,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced.

The Chakosians have been fighting for decades to be allowed to return to their native islands, which today are uninhabited except for a military base.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled that the British Isles must return to Mauritius to “complete the decolonization of its territory”. That same year, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly that this should happen.

Last year, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch declared that the forced displacements of the 1960s constituted British and American crimes against humanity.