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Rwanda has filed a legal case against the United Kingdom over a controversial migration agreement that was abandoned by the British government, seeking £50 million ($68.8 million) in compensation.
Rwanda claimed in a statement issued late on Tuesday that the UK neglected to formally end the agreement almost two years after it was abandoned, leaving unpaid balances.
The deal, signed in 2022, allowed the UK to send some asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed.
The agreement was scrapped after Keir Starmer took office in July 2024, stating that the policy would end because it was a “gimmick that don’t act as a deterrent.”
Rwanda said the UK had already paid about £240 million before the deal was abandoned. It added that in November 2024, the UK asked Rwanda to waive two additional payments of £50 million each, due in April 2025 and April 2026, saying this was in anticipation of formally ending the treaty.
According to the government, it was willing to accept the termination of the deal if new financial terms were discussed and agreed upon. However, it said no such talks took place and that the outstanding payments remain due under the treaty.
Kigali reported the dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last November, after the UK made clear it would not make any further payments.
In its statement, Rwanda accused the British government of ending the deal without proper notice, saying Starmer declared the agreement “dead and buried” without consulting Kigali.
It also charges the UK with violating the terms of the treaty by “refusing to make arrangements to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda” and “respecting the financial arrangements”.
“Rwanda regrets that it has been necessary to pursue these claims in arbitration, but faced with the United Kingdom’s intransigence on these issues, it has been left with no other choice,” the statement added.
Responding, a Home Office spokesperson said the previous government’s Rwanda policy wasted public resources.
“The previous government’s Rwanda policy wasted vast sums of taxpayer time and money,” the spokesperson said. “We will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers.”
