Pope Leo XIV Hails UK–Mauritius Pact, Backs Chagossians’ Right to Return

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday reaffirmed what he called the “inalienable” right of displaced peoples to return to their homeland, telling representatives of the Chagos Refugees Group that “no people, however small or weak, can be forced into exile.” The pontiff met a 15-member delegation of Chagossians at the Apostolic Palace, praising their decades-long campaign to go back to the Indian Ocean archipelago from which the United Kingdom expelled them in the late 1960s and early 1970s to make way for a U.S.–U.K. military base on Diego Garcia. Leo XIV described as a “significant victory” the treaty signed in May under which London agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining operating rights for the base for an initial 99-year period. The accord commits the U.K. to pay Mauritius an average £101 million a year and bars other nations’ forces from the surrounding islands. It still requires ratification by both countries’ parliaments. The pope urged Mauritian authorities and the international community to ensure a swift and dignified resettlement of the Chagossians, noting that decades of displacement had left the community in poverty and “grave injustice.” He also thanked negotiators for resolving the dispute through dialogue and adherence to international law. Chagos advocates welcomed the Vatican’s support, saying it adds moral weight to their push to return home once the treaty takes effect.