The Inter-Ministerial Committee regarding the Chagos Archipelago chaired by the Prime Minister and comprising the Deputy Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade met this afternoon to discuss the delay in the coming into force of the Treaty signed on 22 May 2025 and the crisis in the Middle East.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee notes with concern:
(a) the opinion expressed by various international lawyers that the attacks by the United States of America and Israel against Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks against States not initially involved in the conflict, have no legal underpinning under international law;
(b) the controversies that have arisen from the use of various military bases in this conflict and the intensification of the conflict in the region.
Mauritius, mindful of its commitment to the international rules based order, calls for an immediate ceasefire and recourse to peaceful means of resolving disputes between the States concerned.
The Inter-Ministerial Committee also notes with concern:
(a) that, although the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, was signed as far back as 22 May 2025 and despite the common will of the parties to bring the Agreement into force expeditiously, it has not yet entered into force and there is no visibility as to when this would occur;
(b) the presence of unauthorised individuals on one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago, contrary to the common intention of the parties to the Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago for an orderly resettlement of some of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in due course;
(c) that a number of wealthy individuals, as well as certain politicians, are complicit in bringing about such illegal presence on one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago.
As is normally the case, in matters concerning the indisputable sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago, representatives of the Chagossian community in Mauritius led by Olivier Bancoult and comprising of Messrs Harris Elysee, Roger Alexis and Mrs Madeline Yardin, have today been consulted and apprised of the matters addressed above by the Inter-Ministerial Committee.
Prime Minister’s Office
03 March 2026
