[1] Britain, while not directly interested in Rwanda, was engaged due to its borders with resource-rich Uganda and DRC.

From the early 1990s, the UK supported the formation and goals of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to topple the Francophone government of Juvénal Habyarimana in Rwanda.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Britain played a key role in decisions to withdraw most of the UN peacekeeping troops from Rwanda in April 1994 after the genocide began, as British UN Ambassador Hannay argued that UNAMIR could have a similar fate as the failure in Somalia six months earlier, and proposed to reduce the operation.

The strengthened UN force was not deployed until over three months after authorization, due to UNSC members failing to provide resources.

[9][10] It was enacted for a duration of five years by British home secretary Priti Patel and Rwandan foreign minister Vincent Biruta on 13 April 2022.