UN experts urge Canada to protect threatened Sikh activist

Five United Nations rights experts have urged Canada to take all feasible measures to protect the Sikh activist Moninder Singh, who has been repeatedly warned by the Canadian authorities of credible threats to his life.

In a letter to the Canadian government dated June 3, and made public two months later, as per regular procedure, the UN experts raised “concerning allegations of foreign intimidation and reprisals” against Singh, a Canadian national.

The letter said that since 2022, Singh has received four so-called “duty to warn” notices from the Canadian authorities about credible and imminent threats to his life.

It urged Canada to “take all feasible measures at its disposal to protect Mr Moninder Singh and his family, as well as similarly-situated individuals on Canadian soil”.

“We also urge the authorities to accelerate the investigations into these allegations, hold perpetrators accountable, ensure adequate remedy to victims, and take all steps to prevent reoccurrence,” the UN experts wrote.

The letter was written by the special rapporteurs on protecting rights while countering terrorism; on freedom of peaceful assembly; on human rights defenders; and on freedom of religion, and the expert on promoting a democratic international order.