Fury as Mauritius uses UK Chagos deal cash to pay for debts instead of indigenous resettlement

Mauritius is using UK government money to pay its debts instead of indigenous resettlement, The Independent can reveal, reigniting anger over Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to hand over the archipelago.

It comes after Chagossian campaigners submitted a formal legal communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee as part of an attempt to challenge the legitimacy of the deal.

The agreement, signed last month, will see the UK give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius and lease back the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at a cost of £101m per year for 99 years.

Under the deal, a £40 million ‘Future Fund’ trust was established by the UK, to help resettle indigenous Chagossians and “create wealth for future generations”, after hundreds of people native to the islands were deported more than half a century ago when the British and US governments built the military base there.

It is set to be funded by the UK and established by Mauritius, but the Mauritian budget for 2025/26 indicates ministers will use any money for the trust fund until three years into the agreement.

The budget, presented to the Mauritian parliament on Wednesday, stated “the revenue from Chagos… will be used for debt repayment for the first 3 years”.

It adds that the government will “start the groundwork to set up a Future Fund, to which receipts from the Chagos deal will be transferred as from year four. But the budget contains no details of how much money will be put towards it each year.

The revelation comes despite both countries saying they wanted to “recognis[e] the wrongs of the past” and are “conscious that past treatment of Chagossians has left a deeply regrettable legacy, and [they are] committed to supporting the welfare of all Chagossians”.

There are none left on the islands to consult or to take part in a referendum. In a shameful episode during decolonisation, they were deported, with most settling in Mauritius, the Seychelles and the UK. Many oppose the deal, but their legal actions have failed.

Jean Francois-Nellan, of campaign group Chagossian Voices, told The Independent he is “appalled but not surprised”.

“Chagossians are being erased from both the history and future of Mauritius. The government is more interested in using our suffering to balance its books than in delivering justice,” he said.

“Instead, the budget outlines development priorities for Rodrigues and Agalega regions, rightly deserving of investment, but completely omits the Chagossians, the very people whose displacement gave rise to the international legal fight Mauritius continues to wage.”

He added: “Despite repeated claims of sovereignty and responsibility over the Chagos archipelago, the government of Mauritius has once again failed to acknowledge or prioritise the rights and welfare of the Chagossian people in its 2025/26 national budget.”

The case, being brought to the UN by campaigners Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, criticises the UK-Mauritian deal for having been “negotiated and concluded without the participation or consent of the Chagossian people, who remain displaced from their homeland since the orchestrated deportation carried out between 1965 and 1973”.

The campaigners add: “It explicitly bars their return to Diego Garcia, historically the most populous island, and entrenches the colonial and strategic use of the territory by leasing it for up to 99 years to the United States.

“The agreement constitutes the crystallisation of a historical injustice and threatens to make permanent the exclusion of an entire people from their native land.”

While the committee’s decision is not legally binding, it carries significant moral and legal authority.

As a quasi-judicial body, its rulings shape international legal norms and state obligations - meaning that if they rule in favour of the Chagossians, it would significantly undermine the government’s decision to sign the treaty.

Ms Pompe said: “The fight is not over. There is nothing in that treaty for Chagossians and we will fight.”

She added: “I pity the poor souls in the No.10 Press Office who are being ordered to justify Keir Starmer’s betrayal of the Chagossian people. We’re looking forward to the explanation of why the UN Human Rights Committee doesn’t matter. Not pausing the Chagos deal until the Committee rules is indefensible.”

The deal was signed in May after months of legal wrangling, and even an overnight legal challenge the night before brought by indigenous campaigners, which initially put the treaty on pause but was later dismissed.

The FCDO has been contacted for comment.