The government of Rwanda is seeking damages of £50 million from the UK following the cancellation of a migrant transfer deal between Rwanda and the UK on Monday. The controversy comes amidst growing human rights concerns and diplomatic tension over Rwanda’s military presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Rwanda’s government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, alleged the British government “asked Rwanda to quietly forego[ing] the payment based on the trust and good faith existing between our two nations.” Contrarily, the British government spokesperson told BBC that “Rwanda has waived any additional payments.”

The UK-Rwanda deal was a treaty between the UK and Rwanda where asylum seeker claims would be processed in and remain in Rwanda should their asylum claim be denied. According to the UK National Audit Office, the UK government would pay £370 million as funding to support the development of Rwanda and to compensate for the cost of relocating Rwandan individuals. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer ended the scheme after the Labour government won the general election, stating that the scheme was ineffective as a migration policy. The UN human rights experts welcomed the scheme as “an important step to ensure the right to asylum.”

The treaty was widely condemned for violating British human rights statutes. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also considered the deal was a breach of the UK’s international law obligations. Specifically, concerns about the potential for refoulement were raised, where asylum seekers are subject to persecution risk in their country of transfer, as were concerns about the UK passing its responsibility for asylum processing onto a developing country which already bears a significant burden in protecting refugees.

Apart from suspending the UK-Rwanda deal, the British government has suspended foreign aid and limited inter-country trade in response to Rwandan intervention in an ongoing conflict in the Eastern DRC. Makolo described the suspension as “unjustified punitive measures.”

Makolo also raised an issue about Lord Collins making “inflammatory comments” on February 25 when answering a question in the Parliament. The Rwandan government interpreted it as insinuating a connection between the government and a terrorist attack on a church in the DRC. The Rwandan government promptly denied any connection between them and the terror group Allied Democratic Forces. Rwanda has requested a public correction and apology from the UK government.

According to local news outlet the New Times, Rwanda summoned the British High Commissioner in Kigali, Alison Thorpe, following the comment made by Lord Collins on February 27. The outlet also reported that Lord Collins wrote a letter to Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Mduhungirehe, on February 28 to retract his comments. By George Macauley | U. Toronto Faculty of Law, CA/Jurist