Chagos Archipelago

Chagos Archipelago
Left: British territorial flag Right: Flag of indigenous Chagossians
Government	Statesian-British military occupation
Area
• Land	60 km²
Population
• Estimate	3,000 (seasonal)

The Chagos Archipelago or Chagos Islands are a disputed territory in the Indian Ocean. It belongs to Mauritius under international law but is currently governed as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

History

British colonization

In 1965, the British paid a £3 million bribe to its colony of Mauritius in order to take control of the Chagos Islands. The British displaced over 3,000 natives, sending them to Mauritius and the Seychelles.

Territorial dispute

In April 2010, the British declared a marine protected area around the islands. In 2015, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that this declaration violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2019 that the British had to end its control of the islands "as rapidly as possible." The UN General Assembly voted 116-56 in favor of Mauritius with 56 abstentions and gave Mauritius control of any future resettlement program for the Chagossians.

In October 2024, the UK and Mauritius signed a treaty returning the islands to Mauritian sovereignty. However, the USA and UK will retain control of a military base on the island of Diego Garcia for 99 years under the treaty.