Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces calls to suspend his deal handing the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after UN experts criticised its treatment of the Chagossian people. The deal, agreed last month after long-running negotiations, returns sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, but will see the UK lease back a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. But a panel of experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said retaining the base and continuing to bar Chagossians from Diego Garcia “appears to be at variance with the Chagossians’ right to return”.
The Chagossians were expelled from the islands between 1965 and 1973 to make way for the joint UK-US base and have not been allowed to return.
Although the UK-Mauritius deal includes a £40 million trust fund for the benefit of the Chagossians, the UN experts expressed concern that this would not provide an “effective remedy” for the islanders.
They also criticised an apparent lack of consultation of the islanders prior to the deal, saying: “We are gravely concerned about the lack of meaningful participation of Chagossians in processes that have led to the agreement.”
The experts added: “In light of these significant concerns, we call for the ratification of the agreement to be suspended and for a new agreement to be negotiated that fully guarantees the rights of the Chagossian people to return to all islands of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.”
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel urged the Government to “do the right thing (and) stop this”.
She said: “We have been warning from the start that this deal is bad for British taxpayers and bad for the Chagossian people.
“Now even the United Nations is saying the very same.
“Labour has completely ignored this community from the get-go, and failed to consult with them at every step of the way.
“It is why I have introduced a Bill in Parliament that would block the (agreement) and force the Government to speak to the people at the heart of their surrender plans.”
The deal follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice saying the islands should be handed over to Mauritius.
As well as the fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay at least £120 million a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least £13 billion in cash terms.
The deal also includes provisions preventing development on the rest of the archipelago without the UK’s consent, which the Government has argued will prevent countries such as China setting up their own facilities.
The agreement has also been backed by the United States.