Rwanda has initiated arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after the UK declined to pay the final instalment of a cancelled asylum partnership, seeking £50 million. London had already paid £240 million, while only four volunteers were relocated under the scheme negotiated in 2022. The case follows a 2023 UK Supreme Court ruling that the policy was unlawful and comes amid wider tensions over migration and suspended UK aid to Rwanda.
Rwanda Takes UK To The Hague Over Scrapped Asylum Deal, Seeks £50m
Asylum seekers wade into the sea to try to board smugglers' boats in an attempt to cross the English Channel off the beach of Gravelines, northern France on September 27, 2025 [File: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP]
Rwanda has launched interstate arbitration against the United Kingdom at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague after London declined to pay the remaining sums under a controversial asylum partnership, Rwandan officials and UK media reported.
What Rwanda Says
The Rwandan government is seeking £50 million ($68.8m) in compensation, arguing that the UK failed to formally terminate the treaty nearly two years after the agreement stalled. Michael Butera, chief technical adviser to Rwanda’s minister of justice, said Kigali had tried diplomatic engagement before taking legal action:
“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.”
Background
The asylum partnership, negotiated under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2022, was intended to transfer some asylum seekers who crossed the English Channel to Rwanda as a deterrent. In practice, only four volunteers were relocated under the scheme.
By the time the policy was effectively abandoned, London had already paid Kigali £240 million ($330.9m), with a further £50 million scheduled for payment in April. When he became prime minister in July 2024, Keir Starmer described the arrangement as “dead and buried” and formally shelved the programme.
Legal And Political Context
The policy had faced multiple legal challenges in the UK. In November 2023 the UK Supreme Court ruled that the scheme was unlawful under international law. According to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s public listing, Rwanda opened interstate arbitration under the asylum partnership agreement in November and the case is currently listed as pending.
Relations between the two countries have been strained: the UK suspended most bilateral aid to Rwanda last year after accusing Kigali of backing the M23 rebel offensive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — a move Rwanda called “punitive.”
Wider Migration Debate
Migration remains a politically charged issue in the UK. Channel crossings have remained high in recent years: roughly 37,000 people crossed the English Channel in 2024, and more than 40,000 did so in 2025. The UK government says it has removed about 50,000 undocumented migrants living in the country.
In September, the UK and France introduced a “one-in-one-out” arrangement aimed at returning some asylum seekers to France while accepting people with UK family ties, but critics — including charities and NGOs — have questioned its effectiveness and described it as restrictive of asylum rights.
Next Steps
The UK government has said it will “robustly defend” its position to protect British taxpayers. Arbitration at the PCA can take months or years; the outcome will depend on the treaty’s terms and the tribunal’s interpretation of whether contractual or procedural obligations were breached.
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