Chagos Treaty: Elders Await Action in 2026

Talks between London and Port Louis have started again, but the people at the centre of the dispute are running out of time. The Chagos Islands treaty delay has left elderly Chagossians wondering whether they will ever see the archipelago their families were forced to leave in the late 1960s and 1970s. Britain removed up to 2,000 islanders to make room for the military base on Diego Garcia.

Those born on the islands are now between 58 and 100 years old. Olivier Bancoult, who leads the Chagos Refugees Group, recalls a funeral where mourners scattered sand from Chagos into an elder’s grave. The man had wanted to die at home and never got the chance. For younger Chagossians, the loss is cultural as much as personal. Many have never seen the islands their grandparents describe, and descendants say they long to know the land of their ancestors.

A Signed Treaty That Has Not Taken Effect

Britain and Mauritius signed the treaty on May 22, 2025. It gives Mauritius sovereignty over the archipelago, while the UK keeps the right to operate the Diego Garcia base for an initial 99 years. Mauritius would also be free to resettle Chagossians on islands other than Diego Garcia. Under the deal, London would pay Mauritius £101 million a year to secure the base.

More than a year later, it has still not entered into force. London put the supporting legislation on hold in April after Washington objected, saying it would only proceed with US support. The Diego Garcia treaty Trump opposition is the main obstacle. Trump called the agreement a “big mistake” in February, and a 1966 UK-US agreement over the base is one reason Britain cannot simply push ahead without American backing.

Mauritius has grown impatient. It earlier told the UK it would wait until the end of July, and officials have since floated legal action over the lease income they expected to receive. Last Saturday, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam travelled to the UK to meet National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell. He says Mauritian sovereignty over the archipelago is non-negotiable, but little has been disclosed publicly about what the two sides actually discussed.

A Community That Does Not Speak With One Voice

The delay has also exposed splits among Chagossians. The Chagos Refugees Group wants the treaty implemented as signed. A second group, led by UK-based Misley Mandarin and backed by Reform UK, wants resettlement under British rather than Mauritian sovereignty. Chagossians scattered across the UK, Mauritius and the Seychelles hold views shaped by how each government has treated them over the decades.

Campaigners say the debate has been framed as a dispute between states, with the islanders pushed to the margins. One group spokesperson argued that the elders and survivors are the ones who have been lost in the process, and that the UK should help arrange dignified resettlement. Under both the current arrangement and the treaty, return to Diego Garcia itself remains off the table.

For now, hope rests on the renewed talks. Bancoult says his group is unshaken by Trump’s interference, but admits time is against them. Every funeral shortens the list of people who remember the islands first-hand.