Rwanda will not receive the more than £100 million it sought from the United Kingdom over the cancellation of a controversial asylum agreement, an international court ruled Monday. The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration found that "Rwanda is not entitled to any of the forms of relief it seeks."
The deal had been signed under the previous Conservative government and was designed to send asylum seekers who arrived in the UK illegally to Rwanda, where their claims would be processed. If successful, they could be granted refugee status and remain in Rwanda. The plan was introduced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a deterrent to illegal crossings of the English Channel in small boats, and was first announced in 2022 under Boris Johnson.
Rwanda argued the UK had incurred significant costs preparing for the partnership and then abandoned its legal obligations. Rwanda's minister of justice and attorney general, Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, told the court the UK had not given Rwanda advance notice of the cancellation and that leaders were "left to read about this development in the media."
UK lawyers argued during the three-day hearing in the Netherlands that it was "entirely logical" the plan would be scrapped when Labour came to power and "simple common sense" that no further payments would be due. They also denied the UK had breached any terms of the agreement.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer cancelled the deal shortly after taking office and declared it "dead and buried." Dropping the scheme had been a Labour manifesto pledge ahead of the 2024 general election.
The scheme had faced a series of legal obstacles from the start. The first flight scheduled under the plan in 2022 was grounded minutes before takeoff after an intervention from the European Court of Human Rights, which set off further legal challenges in London courts. The deal never resulted in a single compelled removal. A voluntary removals program was later announced in 2024 offering migrants whose claims were rejected up to £3,000 to move to Rwanda. Only four people took part.
A spokesperson for the Rwandan government said it respected the ruling and considered the matter concluded, but noted in a statement that a dissenting opinion by arbitration panel member Professor Mohamed Abdel Wahab showed the legal issues were complex and open to different conclusions.
