The signing of this agreement, initially scheduled for Thursday morning, was temporarily blocked by a court order issued overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
The High Court in London on Thursday rejected a last-minute legal challenge brought by two Chagossian women against the UK’s plan to return the Chagos archipelago, located in a strategic region of the Indian Ocean, to Mauritius.
The signing of the agreement, which was originally planned for Thursday morning, had been temporarily halted by the court order issued overnight. This order was subsequently “lifted,” announced Judge Martin Chamberlain, who considered that blocking the agreement could be “prejudicial” to the public interest and the United Kingdom.
“An Essential Agreement”
“Just moments ago, I signed an agreement to secure the UK-US joint military base on Diego Garcia. This is absolutely essential for our defense and intelligence, and thus for the security of the British people,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
London agreed in October to recognize Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos Islands on the condition that the UK retains its joint military base with the United States on Diego Garcia island. This commitment, made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer—himself a former human rights lawyer—comes after more than half a century of dispute. However, the agreement remains divisive.
