Rwanda's new refugee appeals tribunal hears its first cases
An independent body now reviews rejected asylum claims, with two benches, interpreters and a six-month deadline for decisions.
Kigali — Asylum seekers in Rwanda whose applications were refused now have an independent place to appeal. The Appeals Tribunal for Refugees and Applicants for Refugee Status has started hearings, with at least 20 cases planned for its first week, registrar Jean Damascene Ndabirora Kalinda told The New Times. Hearings are closed to protect applicants.
How it works
- Legal basis: Law No. 042/01 of 19 April 2024; its leadership was appointed on 4 March 2026.
- Mandate: appeals against refusals by the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration.
- Members: two co-presidents and four others. Cases are heard by a three-member bench or a single member, and two benches can sit at once to cut delays.
- Filing: online, through a module of the Immigration Case Management System.
- Language: applicants come from the DRC, Burundi, Sudan, Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chad and Ethiopia; the tribunal must provide interpreters.
- Lawyers: applicants have a right to representation; fees are not covered automatically, but UNHCR and partners may help.
- Deadline: a decision within six months. Applicants can then petition the High Court, which can ask the tribunal to reconsider.
Why it changed
Under the 2014 system, appeals went to the same ministry that had sat on the committee making the first decisions, which raised questions of independence. Tribunal members now do nothing but hear appeals. The two-president structure was designed for a UK asylum partnership that did not go ahead, but Rwanda kept it. Refusal letters were not issued between 2024 and 2026 while no appeal route existed, so a backlog may build.
Source: The New Times via AllAfrica, 21 October 2026.
