Adedokun Waliyu 
An international court has rejected Rwanda’s claim that Britain should pay more than £100 million ($135 million) allegedly owed under a cancelled migrant deportation agreement.
Judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that Britain was not responsible for paying two years of outstanding costs linked to the scheme, which was abandoned in 2024.
In 2022, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed an agreement with Rwanda to send migrants who arrived in Britain through dangerous or illegal routes, such as small boats or lorries, to Rwanda for processing and resettlement.
However, the plan faced legal and political challenges from the outset. The UK Supreme Court eventually ruled that the scheme was unlawful.
After becoming Prime Minister in July 2024, Keir Starmer immediately cancelled the programme, describing it as “dead and buried” and dismissing it as a gimmick. Interior Minister Yvette Cooper also criticized the policy, calling it a major waste of taxpayers’ money.
According to the current UK government, only four people were sent to Rwanda during the two years before the programme was scrapped, and all of them went voluntarily.
Although approximately £290 million had already been paid to Rwanda, Kigali argued that two additional annual payments of £50 million each were still owed under the agreement.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration, which was established in 1899 to resolve disputes between nations, rejected one £50 million claim by majority decision and unanimously rejected the second claim.
The ruling comes amid growing tensions between the two countries. Britain has recently reduced aid to Rwanda, accusing it of supporting M23 rebels operating in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
