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President Donald Trump briefly turned the world’s attention to the remote archipelago earlier this month when he described the UK-Mauritius agreement on sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago as “an act of great stupidity.”
While most of the coverage and discussion has focused on the US military base on Diego Garcia, little attention has been paid to the sordid story of US and UK involvement in ongoing crimes against humanity against the island’s indigenous Chagossians.
With a home island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the Chagossians are primarily descendants of formerly enslaved East Africans. More than 60 years ago, U.S. officials decided that the largest island, Diego Garcia, was a suitable location for a remote military base.
The United States viewed the Chagossian population as a problem and wanted the island to be “free” of residents. Over the next decade, through a fabricated narrative based on racism and lies, they secretly plotted with Britain, the colonial power that rules Chagos, to expel the islanders from their homeland.
One U.S. admiral, Elmo Zumwalt, said the islanders “absolutely have to leave.” To scare them away, British and American personnel gassed the dogs. Between 1967 and 1973, the British began deporting not only Diego Garcia, but all Chagossians (as many as 2,000 people) from the entire island. The United States built and operated the Diego Garcia base for more than 50 years.
Today, Chagossians live primarily in exile in the United Kingdom, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. Despite generations of repatriation campaigns, many remain impoverished and prevented by Britain and the United States from returning to live in their homelands. The islands remain abandoned except for the US military base.
The story of America’s involvement in this forced displacement is slowly emerging through Congressional investigations, the work of scholar David Vine, and the tireless struggle of generations of Chagossians to uncover the truth and return home. In 2023, Human Rights Watch found that the United Kingdom and the United States are responsible for crimes against humanity and have an obligation to make reparations, or an opportunity to right their wrongs.
As a result, the US State Department for the first time acknowledged its “regret” over what happened to the Chagossians. The UK and Mauritius subsequently agreed in principle to a treaty in which the UK maintains formal control of Diego Garcia and recognizes Mauritius’ sovereignty over the islands, although the US military base remains.
Chagossians are forgotten in this settlement. Although the treaty mentions historical wrongs, crimes continue. Chagossians remain prevented from returning to their homeland, and their islands remain empty except for bases. Some Chagossians hope the treaty will allow them to live on some of the islands, depending on whether Mauritius honors its obligations. The treaty itself provides no guarantee of their return and is silent on compensation for Chagossians.
The US still appears to be opposed to Chagossians returning to Diego Garcia, even though the base occupies up to half of the island. None of the Chagossians we spoke to want the base closed. Instead, they want the opportunity to work there. The United States has been hiding in the shadow of Britain and has kept its public profile in the negotiations very low, at least until President Trump’s comments.
But the terms of the agreement make it clear that the United States is influencing the negotiations. America’s “regrets” for the Chagossians have not yet translated into ensuring their return to Diego Garcia.
The treatment of the Chagossians is a crime in which the United States has been involved for more than 50 years, and President Trump has inadvertently drawn attention to this crime. After acknowledging their regrets, the US and UK governments should ensure that their actions are consistent with their obligations under international law, including working with Mauritius to ensure the Chagossians return to their homeland and provide appropriate compensation. Until that happens, injustice will remain unresolved.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
