Rwanda has initiated arbitration proceedings against Britain over an asylum deal canceled by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 2024, the East African country's government said.
As part of this agreement, signed before Mr. Starmer came to power, Great Britain agreed to pay Rwanda to welcome migrants who arrived illegally in Great Britain. Only four people were voluntarily sent to Rwanda, as the project was blocked by legal challenges.
Rwanda has filed a petition with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, arguing that Britain had violated the financial agreements of the "migration partnership", its government said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added that Britain had asked him in 2024 to forgo two payments of £50 million ($69 million) due in April 2025 and April 2026, in anticipation of the formal termination of the treaty underlying the agreement.
Rwanda said it was ready to accept, provided the treaty was terminated and new financial conditions were negotiated and agreed.
"Discussions between Rwanda and the United Kingdom, however, have not been successful, and the amounts remain due and payable under the treaty", the government added.
After Starmer canceled the deal, his government said it was a waste of taxpayers' money and no further payments would be made.
Relations between Britain and Rwanda deteriorated last year, when London suspended some of its aid due to Rwanda's role in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda has come under international pressure following accusations that it supports the M23 rebel group there.
Kigali denies supporting the M23 and accuses Congolese and Burundian forces of being responsible for the resumption of fighting which has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced over the past year.
