Rwanda Launches Legal Action Over Scrapped UK Asylum Deal

Rwanda has formally launched arbitration proceedings against the UK following the cancellation of a controversial asylum agreement, escalating a dispute that has remained politically sensitive in Britain. The Rwandan government said it has submitted a case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, arguing that the UK breached financial obligations under the migration partnership. The deal, agreed under a previous British government, involved relocating people who arrived illegally in the UK to Rwanda in exchange for significant payments. The agreement was terminated in 2024 after Keir Starmer took office, bringing an end to a policy that faced sustained legal challenges and widespread criticism across the UK.

Under the terms of the agreement, Britain committed to pay Rwanda to host asylum seekers, but only four individuals were ever sent under the scheme, all on a voluntary basis. Rwanda claims the UK later requested that it waive two scheduled payments of fifty million pounds each, due in 2025 and 2026, in anticipation of formally ending the treaty. Kigali said it was open to renegotiation provided the agreement was formally terminated and revised financial terms were settled. However, it said discussions did not ultimately take place, leaving the payments outstanding under the existing treaty framework. The arbitration filing seeks to recover what Rwanda says it is still owed.

The UK government has strongly defended its decision to scrap the policy, describing the scheme as costly and ineffective. A spokesperson for Starmer said the arrangement had wasted hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money while delivering minimal results. The government has insisted it will contest the arbitration case and focus instead on alternative strategies to tackle illegal migration, particularly crossings of the English Channel in small boats. Ministers argue that the Rwanda policy failed to act as a deterrent and became mired in legal obstacles that prevented its implementation at scale.

The dispute comes against the backdrop of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, which worsened last year after Britain paused some aid to Rwanda amid concerns over its alleged involvement in conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda has rejected claims that it supports rebel groups in the region. The arbitration case adds a new legal and political dimension to the fallout from the abandoned asylum deal, with potential financial implications for the UK as the government seeks to draw a line under one of the most contentious migration policies of recent years.