Rwanda Demands $115 Million from UK Over Cancelled Refugee Program

Rwanda is pursuing $115 million from Britain through international arbitration after the UK scrapped a controversial refugee resettlement agreement. The East African nation claims it invested heavily in facilities and infrastructure before Prime Minister Keir Starmer terminated the deal upon taking office.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Rwanda is demanding Britain pay $115 million through international arbitration proceedings after the UK abruptly cancelled a disputed refugee resettlement agreement, officials said Wednesday.

The arrangement, negotiated in 2022 under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, would have relocated migrants arriving in Britain by boat or as stowaways to the East African nation. The agreement included financial compensation to Rwanda for associated expenses.

Rwanda’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Emmanuel Ugirashebuja told arbitrators at The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration that his country established an asylum appeals system, built governmental and administrative frameworks, and “prepared reception facilities for the incoming refugees and incurred significant costs in doing so.”

However, when Starmer assumed power, “The new prime minister declared the Rwanda scheme to be dead and buried on his first full day in office,” Ugirashebuja stated. “The United Kingdom did not do Rwanda the courtesy of informing it in advance. Instead, Rwanda was left to read about these developments in the media.”

British officials are asking the tribunal to reject Rwanda’s financial demands, contending that both nations reached an agreement in November 2024 where Rwanda would abandon its payment claims.

Rwanda disputes this assertion. Ugirashebuja informed the panel that the UK “sought to walk away from its legal obligations.”

“A lot of the arbitration is going to turn around on the proof of that agreement,” said Joelle Grogan, visiting senior research fellow at UCD Sutherland School of Law in Dublin, in an Associated Press interview.

The arbitration tribunal at The Hague’s ornate Peace Palace will likely require months or longer to render a verdict following this week’s proceedings.

Sunak originally designed the initiative to transport certain migrants on one-way journeys to Rwanda. When Starmer cancelled the program, his home secretary Yvette Cooper condemned it as the “most shocking waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen.”

Cooper calculated that the plan, which faced legal obstacles and widespread human rights criticism, consumed 700 million pounds ($904 million) in public money, including Rwanda payments, chartered flights that never departed, and salaries for over 1,000 civil servants assigned to the program.

The 2022 agreement stipulated that migrants would be transported to Rwanda for asylum processing, and successful applicants would remain there permanently. Britain’s Supreme Court declared the policy illegal, ruling that Rwanda does not qualify as a safe destination for relocated migrants.

Rwanda initiated the arbitration process in January, stating that Starmer destroyed the deal “without prior notice to Rwanda.”

In the legal proceedings, Rwanda also contends that the UK breached the agreement’s provision requiring London to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda.