United Nations human rights experts have urged Canada to "accelerate" investigations into threats against the life of a Sikh activist who has been critical of the Indian government.

Five UN special rapporteurs wrote to the Canadian government saying they have "serious concerns" about credible threats against Moninder Singh and his family, including an imminent threat to their lives.

Mr Singh, the leader of the Sikh Federation of Canada, has been critical of India's human rights record and is a supporter of the Khalistan separatist movement which seeks to carve out a sovereign and independent Sikh state in India's Punjab region.

“We are concerned that such threats fall within a broader pattern of transnational repression by Indian authorities against Sikh activists in different countries, including Canada,” it said.

The nine-page document was released by the UN Human Rights Office over the weekend. It was originally sent to the Canadian government on 3 June and was made public two months later.

A copy of the letter was also sent to India, the document said.

Mr Singh, who regularly engages with the UN, visited its Geneva headquarters earlier this year to demand international action against India's alleged targeting of Sikh activists abroad, as well as broader allegations of transnational repression.

Allegations of India's involvement in targeting pro-Khalistan Sikh activists caused a major diplomatic rift between India and Canada in 2024 after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa had "credible evidence" linking India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, a Sikh activist designated as a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.

As relations between India and Canada improved under prime minister Mark Carney, Canadian police said there is no evidence linking India to Nijjar's death, while the investigation remains ongoing.

"Nothing has come out today to link the Indian government" to the matter, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Lisa Moreland said earlier.

The UN human rights experts asked Canadian authorities to investigate the threats and hold those responsible to account.

“We are deeply concerned at the allegations that Mr Moninder Singh appears to have been targeted directly before or after instances of cooperation with or reporting to United Nations entities in relation to the targeting of Sikh activists by Indian authorities,” the letter said.

“These allegations, if true, may constitute unlawful intimidation and reprisals in direct retaliation for Mr Moninder Singh’s human rights advocacy and cooperation with United Nations human rights representatives and mechanisms.”

UN special rapporteurs and experts are independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to monitor and report on human rights issues. They serve in their personal capacities and do not speak on behalf of the UN.

According to Global News, the British Columbia police have informed Mr Singh four times that they have received information indicating that he has threats to his life, with the first one reported in July 2022.

The “duty to warn” notice came the same day as a similar warning to his close friend Nijjar.

Mr Singh was again warned about murder plots in August 2023 and March 2025 after he appeared at the UN Human Rights Council.

Two days before he was due to appear before the UN in February 2026, he received another warning of an alleged plot to kill him and his family.

India has strongly denied allegations of the government’s alleged involvement in threats or the killing of foreign nationals, including Nijjar.