The Governor of Rwanda has taken legal action against the United Kingdom’s refusal to disburse payments under a now-scrapped, controversial agreement for Kigali to receive deported asylum seekers.
Rwanda launched arbitral proceedings against the UK through the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration and is seeking 50 million pounds in compensation after the UK failed to formally terminate the controversial agreement about two years ago.
The Chief Technical Adviser to the Minister of Justice, Michael Butera told journalists that 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.
Butera added that Kigali had sought diplomatic engagement before resorting to legal action and the programme to remove to East Africa some people who had arrived in the UK via small boats was agreed upon in a treaty between London and Kilgali.
“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,” Michael Butera said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the deal brokered by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2022 when he took office in July 2024, declaring it dead and buried, however, four volunteers ultimately arrived in Rwanda.
It should be remembered that Britain had already paid the Kigali government US 330.9 million before the agreement was abandoned, with a further US 68.9 million due to be paid in April.
Prime Minister Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters journalist that they will robustly defend our position to protect British taxpayers and this comes after last year move by United Kingdom decision to suspended most financial aid to Rwanda for backing the M23 group’s offensive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The agreement faced a string of legal challenges from the start, culminating in a November 2023 ruling by the UK Supreme Court that it was illegal under international law.
Rwanda began the interstate arbitration proceedings under the asylum partnership agreement in November last year according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s website, which lists the case status as pending.
Immigration has been an increasingly central political issue since the UK left the European Union in 2020, largely on a promise to take back control of the country’s borders.
Abkut 37,000 asylum seekers, including people fleeing Syria and Afghanistan, crossed the English Channel in 2024, and more than 40,000 in 2025 which is the highest number since 2022, when nearly 46,000 people crossed, while dozens have died attempting the long journey.
The UK government says it has removed 50,000 undocumented people living in the country and in September, the UK and France implemented a “one-in-one-out” migrant deal aimed at returning asylum seekers to France while accepting those with UK family ties, however, the policy has faced criticism regarding its effectiveness.
Non Governmental Organisations and charity groups in United Kingdom have also described the scheme as a “cruel” move designed to restrict asylum rights.
Additional Reporting from Associated Press.
