A British High Court has halted the UK’s planned transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius just hours before the landmark agreement was due to be signed, following a legal intervention by displaced islanders.
The deal, which was set to be signed on Thursday morning, was put on hold after a High Court judge issued an injunction in response to a legal claim brought by two women representing the island’s original inhabitants.
The planned handover of the Indian Ocean archipelago included provisions for Britain to lease back Diego Garcia- home to a key US military base for at least 99 years. The strategic base has long been central to American operations in regions including the Middle East and Asia. The Trump administration, consulted on the matter, had reportedly approved the arrangement, though the final terms were delayed due to late-stage negotiations over financial details.
The injunction, granted by Justice Julian Goose, prohibits the UK from taking any legally binding action to conclude the transfer of what is officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory. "The defendant is to maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom... until further order", the judge stated. A new court session has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (0930 GMT) to review the matter.
The British government has refrained from commenting on the ongoing case but defended the proposed agreement as being in the interest of national security.
The Chagos Islands, a vestige of Britain's colonial empire, have been under British rule since 1814. In 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence, the UK detached the islands from Mauritius and forcibly removed around 2,000 Chagossians in the late 1960s and early 1970s to allow for the construction of the Diego Garcia base.
Although courts in the UK have consistently ruled against their return, the displaced islanders have fought for decades to reclaim their homeland. The latest draft agreement included a resettlement initiative, excluding Diego Garcia but the specifics remain undefined.
Mauritius has long challenged Britain's claim to the islands, and the United Nations, along with the International Court of Justice, has called on the UK to return the territory. Talks had progressed to an advanced stage last October but were delayed due to political changes in Mauritius and disagreements over the leasing cost of Diego Garcia.
The UK's Conservative opposition has strongly criticized the deal, accusing the current government of relinquishing control over British territory.
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