Background
The island nation of Mauritius has a history of colonialism and slavery, the tendrils of which are still present in modern Mauritian society. The uninhabited island was first claimed and unsuccessfully colonized by the Dutch between 1598 and 1710. The Dutch withdrew and France took control, until Mauritius was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Paris in 1814. The British abolished the French system of slavery on Mauritius, but implemented an indentured labor system in its place. Additionally, an illegal slave trade still flourished because the demand for labor was so high. In addition to the Dutch, French, and British, the United States also had a hand in Mauritius’ colonization, in the form of a 50-year lease from the British in 1966.
Despite a presidential scandal in 2018, Mauritius is relatively politically stable, with the son of former Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the helm since he was elected in 2019 as member of the center-left Militant Socialist Movement. However, racism and other social issues remain prevalent in Mauritian society, in government, schools, and private life. Overall, Mauritian society is diverse, with a range of ethnic and religious identity groups. Roughly two-thirds of the population is descended from indentured laborers brought to Mauritius in the early 20th century from India and Pakistan, and around one-fourth is of Creole descent. The remainder of the population is primarily comprised of Mauritians of Chinese and French descent. The population is one-half Hindu and one-third Christian, with the majority of the remainder comprised of Muslims and, to a lesser extent, Buddhists.
Although Mauritius technically gained independence in 1968, the British government passed an ordinance evicting upwards of 2,000 residents of the Chagos Archipelago in 1971. The archipelago had been a dependency of Mauritius for most of its history until 1965, when the British severed Mauritius’ jurisdictional ties to it. The British ban was enacted to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest atoll in the archipelago, as part of the 50-year lease agreement. In the 1990s, residents of the Chagos Archipelago sued for the right to return home, and in 2000 a British court ruled that the ban was unlawful. The British government contested the decision and the House of Lords eventually ruled against the islanders. The United Nations General Assembly then formally requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) weigh in, and in 2019 the ICJ found that the eviction process was illegal and further urged Britain to return the islands to Mauritius. Not much progress has come from this nonbinding decision, and the islands remain a point of contention among Mauritius, Britain, and the United States. Due in large part to the forcible displacement of the Chagossian community, former slaves and their descendants struggle with feelings of instability and impermanence, which are exacerbated by structural inequality in Mauritian land laws and the ongoing economic supremacy of those involved in the colonial sugar industry hierarchy.
Transitional Justice Mechanisms
The focus of transitional justice in Mauritius has been slavery and indentured labor. The Truth and Justice Commission Act of 2008 established the Truth and Justice Commission, which had a mandate to conduct inquiries into slavery and indentured labor, determine reparation measures, and prepare a final report, covering abuses from 1638 until 2011. The commission was composed of five commissioners, all selected by the president. The chair, Alex Boraine, was the former deputy chair of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The remaining members were Mauritian nationals, one of whom was a woman.
Ultimately, the commission did not have an adequate system in place for investigating events that occurred hundreds of years before, with no direct surviving victims or perpetrators. Consequently, the data and analysis contained within its final report do not reflect much testimonial input from modern Mauritians. In addition to the inherent obstacle of time, the commission was impeded by internal disagreements about funding, fears about ethnic conflict, and slow initial recruitment of commission members.
The final report, issued in November 2011, makes a number of recommendations, including regarding memorialization of slavery and indentured labor; a more inclusive Mauritian culture and history; better protection of Mauritian heritage; a more democratic society; more equality; and the resolution of land, employment, and educational issues. Implementation has been slow, bordering on nonexistent.
The prime minister created an Inter-Ministerial Committee to analyze the commission’s final report of the Commission and determine which recommendations to implement. Recommendations that have been accepted include: the creation of a Land Bank and the donation of land to slave descendants who have never previously owned land; a new division of the Supreme Court designed to deal specifically with land-related cases; memorialization measures; an audit of the safety of developments that house many descendants of slaves; and the provision of breakfast and lunch to schoolchildren from low-income families. The majority of these recommendations have yet to be implemented. The Mauritian government is under pressure and has recently renewed its promise to establish a land tribunal or a land-related division of the Supreme Court at some point in the next five years. Mauritians are skeptical of promises to implement certain recommendations without concrete plans or timelines.
Finally, the commission initiated a slave voyage project cataloguing the number of people enslaved by the British and French and presenting specifics about the slaves themselves, such as their ports of arrival in Mauritius. The project was not completed by the time the commission ended, due in part to the unavailability of French and British archival materials.
Truth and Justice
The Truth and Justice Commission was unable to create adequate links between slavery and indentured labor and modern Mauritian society. Furthermore, internal ambiguity regarding key terms was problematic: the commissioners disagreed on who could be considered a “descendent” and whether they should be viewed as “victims” or “agents” who fought against their oppressors.
Reparations
The Truth and Justice Commission’s recommendations regarding reparations centered on financial compensation and the return of land. A former member of the commission noted that implementing these types of reparations will be difficult given the lack of formal records, research capacity, and manpower in the country. The commission also recommended that Mauritian state entities apologize for tolerating abuse against slaves and indentured laborers, but the apologies remain undelivered.
Memorialization
The commission recommended a number of memorialization measures, including a Day of Remembrance, a monument, and a museum dedicated to those brought to Mauritius against their will. The Inter-Ministerial Committee approved a slavery museum, a national inventory of heritage collections, and more protection for historical sites related to slavery and indentured labor. In May 2019, the Mauritian government released a statement reiterating its commitment to historical preservation and announcing that a committee had been established to aid in the development of an Intercontinental Slavery Museum.
Gender
The commission discussed sexual violence against slaves and former slaves, although not in depth. Economic dependence, domestic violence, and internalized gender-based violence experienced by women were acknowledged by the commission as an inexorable aspect of post- and pre-colonial Mauritius. The commission made no recommendations specific to addressing legacies of gender-based violence, save for general educational or economic reforms that are not based specifically on gender identity but would instead benefit Mauritian society as a whole, such as the Equal Opportunity Act, guaranteeing equal employment rights.
Women face widespread discrimination and sexual violence and remain underrepresented in Mauritian politics. They also face many barriers to adequate sexual and reproductive health, particularly regarding the availability of family planning advice and information, as well as barriers to land acquisition.
International Actors
The largest impact made by international actors in Mauritius was colonization by the Dutch and the French and occupation by the British and the Americans. However, other global actors have acknowledged their role in perpetuating slavery and inequality in Mauritius, including the Catholic Church. After the commission pointed to the Church’s suppression of cultural and religious heritage, it was one of the first institutions to release a formal apology for its role, and has since been pushing for the implementation of the commission’s recommendations. The United Nations Development Programme is an important actor in the economic and social development of Mauritius, as well as assisting with environmental protection. A number of other international actors are operating in Mauritius, including the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, though the former colonial powers continue to wield the most influence.
Sources
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Croucher, Richard, Mark Houssart, and Didier Michel, “The Mauritian Truth and Justice Commission: Legitimacy, Political Negotiation and the Consequences of Slavery,” African Journal of International and Comparative Law 25.3 (2017).
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Mauritius Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, and Development, “Statistics Mauritius ‘International Organisations,’” http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/Pages/International-Organisations.aspx (accessed 1 July 2020).
Republic of Mauritius, “Towards the Setting Up of an Intercontinental Slavery Museum,” 21 May 2019, http://www.govmu.org/English/News/Pages/Towards%20the%20setting%20up%20of%20an%20Intercontinental%20Slavery%20Museum.aspx (accessed 30 June 2020).
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United Nations Mauritius and Seychelles, “Our Focus,” https://www.mu.undp.org/content/mauritius_and_seychelles/en/home/our-focus.html (accessed 1 July 2020).
United States Institute of Peace, “Truth Commission: Mauritius,” 9 February 2012, https://www.usip.org/publications/2012/02/truth-commission-mauritius (accessed 1 July 2020).
Women Count, “Mauritius,” United Nations Women, https://data.unwomen.org/country/Mauritius (accessed 1 July 2020).
