GENEVA - The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) today expressed deep concern that a recent bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Mauritius regarding the Chagos Archipelago would perpetuate longstanding violations of the Chagossian people's rights.
The Chagos Archipelago, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, had been detached from Mauritius in 1965 during the final stages of Mauritius's decolonisation and placed under continued UK control. In the years that followed, the Chagossian community, an ethnic group of African and South Asian descent with a distinct cultural identity, was forcibly displaced from the islands to make way for the construction of a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia Island.
Their situation has remained unresolved despite the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February 2019, which found that the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius had violated the Chagossian people's right to self-determination and that the United Kingdom was obliged to end its administration "as rapidly as possible." The UN General Assembly subsequently called for the completion of the decolonization process and the return of the islands to Mauritius.
The new bilateral agreement, signed on 22 May 2025, provides for the transfer of sovereignty over the Archipelago to Mauritius and is presented as a measure to implement the ICJ Advisory Opinion and the General Assembly resolution. The Committee took note that the bilateral agreement has not yet entered into force and is pending domestic ratification. Yet, it was alarmed that, according to its provisions, Mauritius would lease Diego Garcia to the United Kingdom for 99 years, with the possibility of a 40-year extension.
The Committee was deeply concerned that the bilateral agreement "explicitly prevents the return of the Chagossian people to their ancestral lands in Diego Garcia Island," even though it permits Mauritius to implement a resettlement program on the other islands of the Chagos Archipelago.
In addition to the denial of the right of the Chagossian people to return to their ancestral lands in Diego Garcia Island, the agreement prevents them "from exercising their cultural rights and preserving their cultural heritage," the Committee said.
The Committee also warned that such provisions "are inconsistent with the UN General Assembly resolution," adding this is particularly so with respect to the UN General Assembly's request to 'facilitate the resettlement of Chagossian people in the Chagos Archipelago without imposing any 'impediment or obstacle to such resettlement'.
Regarding reports that the Chagossian people had not been adequately consulted during the negotiation and drafting of the agreement, the Committee said that the lack of meaningful participation of Chagossian people is "affecting their rights and lands", and "restricting the exercise of their right to self-determination."
Additionally, the Committee was concerned that the agreement does not provide for full reparation for the harms they have endured, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition, nor does it include any formal acknowledgment of past injustices.
The Committee called on both Mauritius and the United Kingdom to suspend ratification of the agreement, and to engage immediately in a renewed dialogue to ensure the free, prior and informed consent of the Chagossian people, and to respect their rights, including the right to return to Diego Garcia, the right to self-determination through meaningful participation in all decision-making processes. It also asked both States Parties to guarantee access to effective remedies and full reparation.
The Committee, issued a decision today under its early warning and urgent procedures, also urged both governments to uphold their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to work toward ending the harm and violations experienced by the Chagossian people.
