Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute

An international dispute over sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, claimed by Mauritius and administered by the United Kingdom. It is intertwined with the displacement of Chagossians and the US military base on Diego Garcia.

British Indian Ocean Territory: A British Overseas Territory established in 1965 from the Chagos Archipelago and several islands formerly belonging to Seychelles. The United Kingdom administers the archipelago through this territory, created before Mauritius became independent.
International Court of Justice: The United Nations’ principal judicial organ, which gives advisory opinions and decides legal disputes between states. It issued the 2019 advisory opinion that the decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed.
Mauritius: An island country in the Indian Ocean that became independent from the United Kingdom in 1968. Mauritius claims sovereignty over Chagos and has pursued its case through international institutions.
Expulsion of the Chagossians: The removal of the Chagos Archipelago’s inhabitants by British authorities from the late 1960s through the 1970s. The removals enabled the restricted military use of Diego Garcia and remain a central unresolved harm.
Mauritius independence: The 1968 end of British colonial rule in Mauritius and its emergence as an independent state. Mauritius argues that detaching Chagos in 1965 violated the conditions under which it later gained independence.
Chagos Archipelago advisory opinion: The 2019 International Court of Justice opinion that the United Kingdom should end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The opinion rejected the legality of separating Chagos from Mauritius during decolonization, while remaining advisory.
United Kingdom: A sovereign state comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom has administered Chagos since detaching it from Mauritius in 1965.
Chagos Marine Protected Area: A marine protected area declared by the United Kingdom around the Chagos Archipelago in 2010. Its creation raised questions about the United Kingdom’s authority and Mauritius’s rights over surrounding waters.
Lancaster House Agreement: The 1965 agreement under which Mauritian political leaders accepted the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago before independence. Its circumstances and legal effect are central to disagreement over whether Mauritius consented freely to detachment.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 73/295: A 2019 United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on the United Kingdom to withdraw its administration from the Chagos Archipelago. It endorsed the court’s decolonization conclusion and set a six-month withdrawal deadline.

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