Rwanda has said it respects a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that rejected its claim for £100 million ($134.6 million) from the United Kingdom over the collapse of a migrant relocation agreement.

 

Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said Kigali considered the matter closed, but highlighted a dissenting opinion from one member of the tribunal.

Rwanda “respects the Tribunal’s award and considers the matter concluded,” Ms Makolo said in a statement on X.

She noted that Prof Mohamed Abdel Wahab’s dissenting opinion showed the dispute was “complex and open to different legal conclusions including that the November 2024 exchanges relied on by the UK did not validly change the financial arrangements between the two countries”.

Prof Wahab argued that the UK should pay Rwanda £50 million ($67 million) linked to the second year of the scheme, but he was overruled by the majority.

Ms Makolo said Rwanda would continue to engage international partners “guided by international norms and mutually beneficial cooperation”.

On Monday, the Hague-based tribunal ruled in favour of the UK, dismissing Rwanda’s claim that London remained liable for payments under the asylum agreement after Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the scheme in 2024.

Deal collapseThe asylum partnership, first agreed in 2022 and later formalised in a treaty in 2023, was designed to relocate asylum seekers who had arrived illegally in the UK to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.

The arrangement became one of the most contentious elements of the previous Conservative government’s immigration policy and faced a series of legal challenges in British courts.

After taking office in July 2024, Mr Starmer abandoned the scheme, describing it as ineffective and unworkable.

Rwanda subsequently launched arbitration proceedings, arguing that despite the change in government and the decision to terminate the agreement, the formal process of ending the deal had not been completed and that the UK’s financial obligations remained in force.

At the centre of the dispute was the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund, through which the UK had committed £490 million ($657 million) to support Rwanda’s capacity to receive and integrate relocated migrants.

The funding was structured over five years. The first £240 million ($322 million) was to be paid in two instalments: half when the agreement came into force and the remainder after the first 300 asylum seekers arrived in Rwanda.

An additional £100 million ($134 million) was scheduled for April 2023, followed by three annual payments of £50 million ($67 million) in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The UK paid the initial £120 million ($161 million), the £100 million ($134 million) due in 2023 and a further £50 million ($67 million) in April 2024.

Legal disputeRwanda argued that London’s decision to terminate the agreement did not extinguish its remaining financial commitments.

The UK countered that Rwanda had accepted Britain’s notification of termination and that subsequent diplomatic exchanges effectively brought the agreement, including future payment obligations, to an end.

London also argued that Rwanda’s legal case lacked merit and suggested the dispute emerged against the backdrop of worsening bilateral relations after the UK imposed measures linked to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The tribunal ultimately sided with the UK, finding that Rwanda had agreed through diplomatic correspondence in November 2024 to forgo further payments scheduled for 2025 and 2026.

Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told The EastAfrican he had “No comment” on the ruling.

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