A legal dispute between Rwanda and the United Kingdom over an unimplemented migration agreement is set to be heard this week at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands.
The arbitration hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, follows a case filed by Rwanda in January concerning the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), a bilateral treaty signed in Kigali on December 5, 2023.
The agreement was signed by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincent Biruta, and the UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly. It was designed to establish a framework under which certain asylum seekers arriving in the UK could be relocated to Rwanda, where their asylum claims would be processed and where they could receive support to rebuild their lives.
However, the policy faced strong political and legal challenges in the UK and was eventually abandoned after a new government took office in 2024.
Rwanda argues that despite the political shift in London, the UK failed to honour financial commitments made under the treaty. According to Rwanda’s Ministry of Justice, both countries agreed through a binding exchange of diplomatic notes in June 2024 on financial arrangements to support refugee hosting and economic integration programmes.
Under those arrangements, two payments of £50 million each were scheduled to be made in April 2025 and April 2026. Rwanda says the payments have not been made.
Kigali also maintains that the UK announced the end of the partnership before formally invoking the treaty’s termination procedures.
“Under international law, termination operates prospectively and does not affect obligations that had already accrued while the treaty remained in force,” said Michael Butera, Chief Technical Advisor to Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, in an earlier statement.
The case will now be examined by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international institution that facilitates the resolution of disputes between states and other parties under international law.
The outcome could determine whether the UK is legally required to fulfil the financial commitments agreed under the treaty. Observers say the ruling may also shape how future international migration partnerships are negotiated, implemented and terminated.
The hearing comes amid broader global debates on migration management and international cooperation on asylum policies
