The governments of Britain and Mauritius have reached a final deal to settle the future of the Chagos Islands but have been barred from signing it by a British judge.

Britain’s government has acknowledged that its removal of islanders was wrong, and has granted many citizenship and set aside some funds to improve their lives. But it continues to bar Chagossians from returning and living in their homeland, citing defense and security concerns and “cost to the British taxpayer.”

The Chagos Islands are in the middle of the Indian Ocean and home to a strategic military base on Diego Garcia.