The UK and US governments should provide full, unconditional, and effective reparations to the Chagossian people and their descendants who were affected by the forced displacement of islanders in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which is seen as a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in a recent report.
The organization has drawn the attention of the international community to the issue by urging the UK and US to admit the crimes carried out against the indigenous population of the Chagos archipelago and hold individuals responsible for the violations through investigations and fair trials.
The report is based on interviews with Chagossian people, as well as UK, US, and Mauritian officials. It represents a review and analysis of documents that expose the abuses committed by the UK and US against the Chagossians, including abuses they have faced since their eviction from the islands.
Forced Exile
The deportations started about 60 years ago, when the British government agreed with the US to set up a US military base on the the largest island of the Chagos archipelago, Diego Garcia, and thus remove its inhabitants. Back then, the Indian Ocean islands were part of Mauritius, which was a UK colony. London decided to split the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius, creating a new colony in Africa, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). According to HRW, the UK "falsely declared that Chagos had no permanent population," that allowed it not to report to the UN about its continued colonial rule.
The islands were inhabited by descendants of African slaves, who were forcibly brought from the continent and Madagascar to the then-uninhabited Chagos archipelago. They lived there for centuries, forming a distinct community with their own culture and Chagossian Creole language.
The report claimed that the UK and US governments, in a bid to make way for a military base, committed a crime against humanity by treating the islanders as people without rights and forcing them to leave their homes. The entire population of all the inhabited Chagos islands, not only Diego Garcia, but also Peros Banhos and Salomon, was displaced with no consultation or compensation. It was noted that people were "abandoned in Mauritius or Seychelles, where they lived in abject poverty."
Crimes Against Humanity
The report said the violations and crimes against the Chagossians were not confined to forced exile. It was stated that the people faced "blatant racism" from UK officials during the expulsion and later on, saying that their treatment was discriminatory in nature. According to the organization, the colonial rule in the islands, unlike in most other British colonies, didn't end in the 1960s, and "has continued at extraordinary cost to the people of Chagos."
"This colonial rule was built on systematic racism and ethnic and racial discrimination in the treatment of the Chagossians [...].The UK has tried to treat Chagos as a territory where international human rights law does not apply," the report read.
After the expulsion, the Chagossians lived in extreme poverty and experienced serious difficulties finding food, work, and housing. The report, citing interviewed islanders, highlighted that some of the displaced, among whom were children, died due to economic hardships and "emotional devastation" as they were torn from their homeland. It could also be connected with the discrimination they faced in their new communities. In 2002, some Chagossians were granted UK citizenship. However, the organization underlined, their assimilation wasn't easy either, as they were not accepted there, having no work or housing, and experiencing discrimination.
Another crime against humanity against the Chagossians, according to the organization, was connected to the fact that people are prohibited from returning to the islands.
Struggle to Return
The Chagossians have been struggling for years for recognition of the abuses carried out against them and their right to return home. In 2000, a UK court declared the BIOT Immigration Ordinance of 1971, which authorized the displacement of the Chagossians, unlawful.
As a result, the then-UK government revoked the laws that prevented the people from returning and living in Chagos, except for the island of Diego Garcia. However, four years later the government reversed its position and reinstated the ban, saying that it is not possible for the Chagossians to return, described by HRW "based on vague assertions of security and cost."
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it was unlawful to detach Chagos from Mauritius and create the BIOT, stating that the rights of the Chagossians to return should be addressed by the UN General Assembly.
As of now, the Chagos archipelago is a disputed territory between the UK and Mauritius. From the British point of view, the archipelago forms the British Indian Ocean Territory, while from Mauritius' perspective, the Chagos archipelago is part of the Mauritian Outer Islands. Most UN member states consider the archipelago part of Mauritius.
The report claimed that the ruling by the ICJ was ignored by the UK government until November 2022, when the country announced it had started negotiations with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos islands, aimed at securing "an agreement on the basis of international law to resolve all outstanding issues, including those relating to the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago." The organization highlighted that the negotiations must include "meaningful and effective consultations" with the Chagossian people.
"The history of the last 60 years is of governments making deals that affect the future of the Chagossians but without involving them. Any future agreement concerning Chagos needs to be centered around the rights of the Chagossians, including the right to return, and full reparations for the decades of abuse," the report said.
HRW's Recommendations
The report called for the UK to recognize the Chagossian people's right to permanently return to Chagos, including Diego Garcia, and, along with the US, ensure that the islands are restored so that people can return to live there "in dignity and prosperity, at a minimum standard equivalent to how they would live today had they not been expelled over 50 years ago."
It also urged the governments to provide financial compensation to all Chagossians, to thousands of them who live around the world, mostly in Mauritius, the UK, and the Seychelles, for all the harms caused to them. In particular, the report stated that "King Charles III should issue a full and unreserved apology to the Chagossian people for the crimes and other abuses committed against them by the United Kingdom."
Moreover, HRW recommended that the governments of the UK and US, as well as Mauritius, call for accountability for those responsible for crimes carried out against the Chagossian people.
The UK government reportedly responded to the requests by saying that the country had already "made clear its deep regret about the manner" in which Chagossians were treated and forcibly displaced from the islands.
However, it underscored that the government categorically rejects the characterization of events outlined in the report. At the same time, it reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Chagossians, including through support packages and "a new British citizenship route launched last November."
The report recalled that 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the final forced exile of the Chagossians. It highlighted that the wrongs done against them should come to an end this year. According to the report, the abuses are serious violations of international human rights law and international criminal law. These violations are also continuing, as their descendants are now denied their right to permanently return. The organization noted that people should be compensated for their suffering, which can be done "if a commitment to full reparations to Chagossians is at the heart of any agreement about the future of Chagos."
"The Chagossian story is also one of struggle and survival. [They] have not accepted the wrongs done to them and continue to persevere for their cause through their organization, activism, and the law. It is because of them that we know the history of the harms they endured. It is time to finally repair the wrongs that have been done," the report concluded.