THE HAGUE, Netherlands — International arbitrators have dismissed Rwanda’s $134 million legal challenge against the United Kingdom over a terminated refugee resettlement program that Prime Minister Keir Starmer cancelled upon assuming office in 2024.
The agreement, established in 2022 under Starmer’s predecessor, Rishi Sunak, called for relocating asylum seekers who reached the U.K. by boat or as stowaways to the East African nation. The arrangement included financial provisions to Rwanda for associated expenses. When Starmer terminated the program, his home secretary at the time, Yvette Cooper, described it as “the most shocking waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen.”
The Permanent Court of Arbitration dismissed two separate Rwandan demands, each worth 50 million pounds ($67 million), related to financing for the cancelled program. While the ruling was dated May 15, the Hague-based tribunal officially released it on Monday. The panel also turned down two additional Rwandan complaints concerning alleged U.K. violations of the agreement.
In their 76-page decision, arbitrators determined that formal diplomatic correspondence between both nations following Starmer’s cancellation constituted a mutual understanding that the U.K. would not provide the two 50 million-pound installments scheduled for April 2025 and 2026 to fund migrant relocations.
The original plan called for transferring migrants to Rwanda, where asylum applications would be reviewed and approved applicants would remain permanently. Britain’s Supreme Court declared the policy illegal, ruling that Rwanda could not be considered a safe destination for relocated migrants.
The British government issued a statement saying: “The U.K. robustly defended its position, and the tribunal has now ruled in favor of the U.K. on all grounds.”
The statement continued that Starmer’s government is “now focused on delivering vital reforms to restore order and control to our borders, including removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to Britain and scaling up removals of those with no right to be here.”
Rwanda has not yet provided a response to the ruling.
