{"id":2000105799,"date":"2026-03-18T15:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000105799"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:41:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:41:39","slug":"rwanda-urges-respect-for-treaty-obligations-as-arbitration-hearing-against-uk-begins-at-pca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-urges-respect-for-treaty-obligations-as-arbitration-hearing-against-uk-begins-at-pca\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda urges respect for treaty obligations as arbitration hearing against UK begins at PCA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

He made the remarks at the tribunal as hearings over an unimplemented asylum agreement between Rwanda and the United Kingdom began on Monday, March 18, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three-day session runs March 18\u201320, with Rwanda represented by Minister of Justice and Attorney General Emmanuel Ugirashebuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda accuses the UK of abandoning the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP), formalized in 2024 after initial agreements in April 2022, without honouring its commitments, including a \u00a3100 million fund (ETIF) intended to support refugees and host communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda initiated arbitration following the UK’s decision under new Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July 2024 to abandon the “Rwanda scheme,” a move that Rwanda learned about through media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking before the tribunal, Dr. Ugirashebuja, highlighted Rwanda’s historical empathy for displacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Many Rwandans have experienced what it means to be displaced. It is this collective experience which has shaped the Rwandan Government\u2019s policies on migration and asylum,” he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda currently hosts over 130,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcoming people from neighboring countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, as well as from Libya and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent examples include receiving 164 asylum seekers from Libya last month and relocating the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) to Kigali in 2021 for Afghan girls barred from education under the Taliban regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Rwanda welcomed over 200 Sudanese medical students displaced by civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ugirashebuja explained Rwanda’s progressive refugee philosophy, noting that \u2018Rwanda firmly believes that refugees make social, cultural and economic contributions to the societies in which they integrate, if they are allowed to do so\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He referenced the 2021 joint UNHCR-Rwanda strategy for economic inclusion, contrasting it with traditional “warehousing” of refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MEDP, he said, aligned with this approach by deterring dangerous irregular migration while promoting economic opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Both Parties described their partnership as the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, or MEDP\u2026 It reflected Rwanda\u2019s commitment to protecting vulnerable people and built on Rwanda\u2019s track record of welcoming and hosting refugees from around the world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda implemented reforms swiftly, including constitutional changes, legislation, an appeals tribunal, and reception facilities. The agreement included the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF), with binding commitments in a June 2024 exchange of notes for \u00a350 million payments in April 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, after the UK government changed, the new Prime Minister declared the scheme “dead and buried.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Ugirashebuja, the UK did not formally notify Rwanda in advance, with termination notice caming in December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The simple fact remains that the United Kingdom did not give notice to terminate the Treaty until December 2025. The termination took effect only on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe MEDP was in force for just over two months under the previous British Government, and the Finance Note for just over two weeks. Both of these binding legal instruments have been in force for over 18 months under the British Government that won the elections in July 2024.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda claims breaches of financial obligations and Article 19 resettlement provisions for vulnerable refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ugirashebuja explained that Rwanda \u2018seeks a modest sum in compensation, less than 10% of the UNHCR\u2019s budget for Rwanda for one year alone, or alternatively an apology for the United Kingdom\u2019s blatant disregard of this obligation\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The United Kingdom may well have wished Rwanda to forgo significant sums of money\u2026 Rwanda ultimately chose not to provide its consent,” Dr. Ugirashebuja said, noting Rwanda’s clear refusal in diplomatic notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He concluded by expressing regret over the need for arbitration but confidence in the tribunal; “Rwanda has enormous faith in this Tribunal to reach the right legal result. Whatever the outcome, Rwanda remains committed to finding solutions to the global migration crisis, including providing safety, dignity and opportunity to refugees and migrants who come to our country.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Peace Palace is an international law administrative building in The Hague, the Netherlands that is often called “the seat of international law” because it houses the Permanent Court of Arbitration and International Court of Justice. Photo by Stephanie Yeow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Migration and Economic Development Partnership between Rwanda and UK had been signed in April 2022, before unilateral cancellation. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr. Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, has emphasized Rwanda’s long-standing commitment to refugee protection and urged the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to uphold the principle that sovereign states must honor binding international agreements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000105804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[160],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000105799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-theophile-niyitegeka"],"bylines":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":3}],"contributors":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":3}],"featured_image":{"id":2000105804,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"The Migration and Economic Development Partnership between Rwanda and UK had been signed in April 2022, before unilateral cancellation. ","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1600,"height":1063,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","width":300,"height":199},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","width":768,"height":510},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","width":1024,"height":680},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ur.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1063}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000105799"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000105805,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000105799\/revisions\/2000105805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000105804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000105799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000105799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000105799"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000105799"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000105799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}