School of Business | Placement Open Evening
6 October 2026 | EVENT
The handover of the Chagos Islands: a view from the Rock
The handover of the Chagos Islands by the UK to Mauritius has understandably generated interest in Gibraltar. It follows an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice which held that the UK had acted unlawfully when it separated the islands from Mauritius in 1965, to establish a UK/US military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia. The Chagossians, who were covertly expelled from the islands by the UK in the 1960s, have never been properly consulted over the future of their homeland. Some commentators, including several UK MPs, have argued that the handover could set a negative precedent and even undermine Gibraltarian self-determination. A comparison between the situations in Chagos and Gibraltar will show that such worries are overblown, but that Gibraltar can nevertheless learn valuable lessons from the treatment of the Chagos Islands and the circumstances surrounding their handover to Mauritius.
