Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the UK and Mauritius to center the Chagossian people in upcoming negations. The UK announced on November 3, 2022, that it was open to reaching an agreement with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands.
HRW called for full reparations for the Chagossian people, stating that they have been severely harmed by the forceful eviction from their homeland by UK authorities about 50 years ago, and stating there needs to be their consultation and participation during the negotiations.
The UK government pressured the colonial government in Mauritius to give up Chagos, an archipelago of 60 islands that were part of Mauritius, as part of a deal for Mauritius' independence. Mauritius ceded Chagos, and the UK proceeded to expel between 1,000 and 2,000 Chagossians to Mauritius and Seychelles, so the US could build a military base on the largest island in the archipelago.
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