This is the story of how the Cold War turned an island paradise into one of the most strategically important US military bases in the world—and the people left behind.

In the 1960s and 70s, Britain forcibly removed an entire population from the Indian Ocean to make way for the Diego Garcia US military base—then spent decades denying it had happened.

This decades-long legal battle has pitted Mauritius against the United Kingdom across multiple international courts, challenging Britain's sovereignty claims and seeking justice for the exiled population.

Guest: Professor Douglas Guilfoyle, University of New South Wales

Further info:

• Check out Douglas's podcast Called to the Bar: International Law Over Drinks.
• Litigation as legal statecraft: Small states and the law of the sea, by Douglas Guilfoyle (Centre for International Law Blog, National University of Singapore, 7 July 2023)
• The Chagos Archipelago Before International Tribunals: Strategic Litigation and the Production Of Historical Knowledge, by Douglas Guilfoyle (Melbourne Journal of International Law)
• Chagos islanders make historic trip home without British escort (BBC News, 16 February 2022)
• The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy by Philippe Sands & Martin Rowson
• UK Foreign Secretary's statement on the Chagos Islands (7 October 2024)

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