The Labour administration, after years of diplomatic discussions, finally declared on October 3 that it would surrender control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This relinquishment, following over fifty years of British sovereignty, would still safeguard the interests of the U.K./U.S. airbase on Diego Garcia.

Sands, reflecting on the situation, attributes Britain’s exit from the EU as a significant factor. He maintains that Brexit played a key role in the 2017 U.N. vote, and without this decision, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling would not have occurred. According to Sands, it is entirely reasonable to assert that Brexit set the stage for this development.

However, Richard Gowan, the U.N. director of the International Crisis Group, contends that even if the EU had supported the U.K., the outcome would have been the same. Gowan explains that the General Assembly, where non-Western countries hold a majority, continually aims to resolve outstanding decolonization issues. He also notes that the U.K. hadn’t prioritized the General Assembly before 2017, as its attention was focused on the Security Council. Post the 2017 setbacks, the U.K.’s mission in New York recalibrated its approach towards the General Assembly, investing more in diplomacy. While Brexit may have influenced this shift, Gowan asserts it wasn’t the sole factor.

Samuel Jarvis, a senior lecturer in international relations at York St John University, who has co-written a research paper on the U.K.’s waning influence at the U.N. following Brexit, agrees that the situation is not as straightforward.