Rwanda takes UK to international arbitration over failed payments under abandoned migration treaty

The action concerns a dispute over the implementation of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), a bilateral treaty between the two governments.

The MEDP includes a dispute-resolution clause that allows for arbitration. According to Rwanda, the dispute relates to the UK’s non-compliance with specific commitments under the treaty.

In June 2024, the UK and Rwanda exchanged diplomatic notes agreeing to two financial contributions of £50 million each, scheduled for April 2025 and April 2026. These payments were intended to support refugee hosting and economic integration in Rwanda. Rwanda asserts that the UK has failed to make these payments.

The agreement also included arrangements for the UK to resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees hosted in Rwanda. However, these arrangements were never finalised. 

Following the January 2024 election, the new UK government announced that the partnership would be discontinued. 

Rwanda argues that these announcements were made before the treaty's formal termination procedures were followed and that all obligations incurred while the treaty was active remain valid under international law.

Rwanda says it first attempted to resolve the issue through diplomatic engagement. When no agreement was reached, it proceeded to initiate arbitration, as provided by the treaty. 

The UK had originally proposed the MEDP as part of its strategy to manage irregular migration. The plan was consistent with Rwanda’s refugee policies and aligned with its cooperation with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Michael Butera, Chief Technical Advisor to Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, said: “Rwanda attempted at first to clarify positions and explore possible paths forward, indicating openness to discussion, including on the orderly conclusion of the partnership, provided that any arrangements were mutually agreed and legally consistent.” 

“As these discussions did not result in a shared understanding, we exercised the dispute-resolution option expressly provided in the treaty,” he told the New Times.

Regarding the expected outcome, Butera said: “Through arbitration, Rwanda seeks a legal determination of the parties’ respective rights and obligations under the treaty, in accordance with international law.” 

He affirmed that Rwanda remains committed to collaboration on migration, refugee protection and development, based on “respect for the rule of law, reciprocity between partners, and the orderly resolution of disputes through agreed legal frameworks.”

The MEDP was originally announced by the UK Government on April 14, 2022, under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a partnership with the Rwandan Government to process and resettle asylum seekers arriving in the UK without authorisation to the East African nation. The initiative aimed to curb illegal entry, especially via small boats across the English Channel.

It was subsequently renamed the UK-Rwanda Asylum Partnership. Through this agreement, individuals seeking asylum in the UK would be relocated to Rwanda before their asylum applications were considered.

However, in November 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled the policy unlawful due to safety concerns in Rwanda. Following a change in government, the plan was officially cancelled in July 2024, after the passage of the Safety of Rwanda Act in April 2024.