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Rwanda Begins Legal Proceedings Against UK Over Abandoned Asylum Pact
(MENAFN) Rwanda has formally begun legal proceedings against the United Kingdom, accusing London of failing to meet its financial and humanitarian obligations under a now-abandoned asylum arrangement between the two countries.
Officials in Kigali announced on Tuesday that a notice of arbitration was submitted last November to an international arbitration body based in the Netherlands, escalating a dispute linked to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP). Rwanda claims the UK violated the agreement on several fronts, including not fulfilling agreed funding commitments and “by refusing to make arrangements to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda.”
“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 government said in a statement.
The MEDP was unveiled in April 2022 under the administration of then–Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The five-year plan aimed to relocate individuals who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if approved, they would be resettled.
From its inception, the initiative encountered sustained legal challenges and political opposition. British courts repeatedly halted deportation flights, citing human rights concerns. After taking office in July 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally ended the policy, describing it as “dead and buried.” He argued that the scheme had “never served as a deterrent” to irregular migration and would have removed “less than 1%” of people arriving in the UK by small boats.
Despite the plan’s cancellation, significant sums had already been transferred to Rwanda. According to official figures, Britain had paid £220 million to the East African country by February 2024.
Officials in Kigali announced on Tuesday that a notice of arbitration was submitted last November to an international arbitration body based in the Netherlands, escalating a dispute linked to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP). Rwanda claims the UK violated the agreement on several fronts, including not fulfilling agreed funding commitments and “by refusing to make arrangements to resettle vulnerable refugees from Rwanda.”
“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 government said in a statement.
The MEDP was unveiled in April 2022 under the administration of then–Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The five-year plan aimed to relocate individuals who entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if approved, they would be resettled.
From its inception, the initiative encountered sustained legal challenges and political opposition. British courts repeatedly halted deportation flights, citing human rights concerns. After taking office in July 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer formally ended the policy, describing it as “dead and buried.” He argued that the scheme had “never served as a deterrent” to irregular migration and would have removed “less than 1%” of people arriving in the UK by small boats.
Despite the plan’s cancellation, significant sums had already been transferred to Rwanda. According to official figures, Britain had paid £220 million to the East African country by February 2024.
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