The UK and Mauritius on May 22, 2025, announced they had agreed a treaty concerning the Chagos Archipelago. Over 50 years ago, the UK and US forcibly displaced the entire Chagossian Indigenous people, mostly to Mauritius, for a US military base on the island of Diego Garcia and have prevented their return to live in their homeland, an ongoing colonial crime against humanity.

The new treaty says that Mauritius can resettle people on the Chagos islands other than Diego Garcia, and that the UK will pay £40 million pounds into a trust fund for Chagossians.  However, the treaty would appear to entrench the policy that prevents Chagossians from returning to Diego Garcia, the largest island.

It also does not acknowledge the UK and US's obligations to provide reparations to Chagossians, including full financial compensation, restoring the islands so they can live there, and ensuring meaningful involvement of the Chagossians in their future, including decisions on compensation and return.

The following quote can be attributed to Clive Baldwin, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch:

"The treaty should be judged on whether it will end the UK and US's colonial crime of forcibly displacing the Chagossian people. It may result in some Chagossians returning to some islands, but it also appears to entrench their exile from Diego Garcia, the largest island. The UK continues to refuse to acknowledge its obligations to provide reparations to the Chagossians for the harm it has caused them."