Rwanda has launched arbitration proceedings against the United Kingdom over London’s decision to cancel a controversial asylum agreement, escalating a dispute that has lingered since the policy was abandoned in 2024.
The Rwandan government said it has filed a notice with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, arguing that Britain breached the financial terms of what both sides had described as a “migration partnership.”
Under the deal, agreed before Prime Minister Keir Starmer took office, Britain committed to paying Rwanda to accept migrants who arrived illegally in the UK. In practice, the scheme barely moved forward. Only four people were sent to Rwanda on a voluntary basis, as legal challenges in Britain repeatedly blocked deportation flights.
According to Kigali, Britain asked in 2024 for Rwanda to forgo two scheduled payments of 50 million pounds each, due in April 2025 and April 2026, while the two governments prepared to formally terminate the treaty. Rwanda said it was open to that request, but only if the agreement was officially ended and new financial terms were negotiated.
“Discussions between Rwanda and the United Kingdom did not, however, ultimately take place, and the amounts remain due and payable under the treaty,” the Rwandan government said in a statement posted on X.
A spokesperson for Starmer rejected Rwanda’s claims, describing the asylum policy as a costly failure. “The Rwanda scheme was a complete disaster,” the spokesperson said, arguing it wasted about 700 million pounds of public money while relocating only four people. Britain, the spokesperson added, would “robustly defend” its position in arbitration and focus instead on alternative ways to curb illegal migration.
The legal clash comes against a backdrop of strained relations between the two countries. Last year, London paused some aid to Rwanda over allegations of its involvement in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda has faced international pressure over accusations that it supports the M23 rebel group, claims it strongly denies.
Kigali has blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for renewed fighting in the region, which has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands over the past year.
