Calling on Canada to Seek Accountability from Modi at G7
June 9th, 2025
Justice For All Canada, a human rights advocacy organization, is disappointed with the Canadian government for inviting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 Summit. Canada has a proud history of promoting human rights globally and has expressed concern about religious persecution elsewhere. However, the relative silence on India’s human rights crisis is concerning, especially given the strategic and economic ties between our nations. We call on Prime Minister Mark Carney to use India’s engagement at the G7 as a critical opportunity for Canada to address these issues directly and constructively.
Reports from reputable organizations such as Human Rights Watch document a decade of discriminatory policies, inflammatory rhetoric, and hate speech by BJP leaders, including during the 2024 election campaign which incited hostility and violence against minorities. Violent attacks, such as mob lynchings, demolitions of Muslim homes and places of worship under “bulldozer justice,” and restrictions on religious freedoms have escalated.
Laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act and anti-conversion legislation further undermine India’s secular constitution and international human rights obligations, disproportionately targeting Muslims and other minorities. Ethnic violence in Manipur has displaced over 60,000 people and killed more than 250 since May 2023, with little accountability for perpetrators.
We urge Global Affairs Canada to take the following actions:
Justice For All Canada, a human rights advocacy organization, is disappointed with the Canadian government for inviting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 Summit. Canada has a proud history of promoting human rights globally and has expressed concern about religious persecution elsewhere. However, the relative silence on India’s human rights crisis is concerning, especially given the strategic and economic ties between our nations. We call on Prime Minister Mark Carney to use India’s engagement at the G7 as a critical opportunity for Canada to address these issues directly and constructively.
Reports from reputable organizations such as Human Rights Watch document a decade of discriminatory policies, inflammatory rhetoric, and hate speech by BJP leaders, including during the 2024 election campaign which incited hostility and violence against minorities. Violent attacks, such as mob lynchings, demolitions of Muslim homes and places of worship under “bulldozer justice,” and restrictions on religious freedoms have escalated.
Laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act and anti-conversion legislation further undermine India’s secular constitution and international human rights obligations, disproportionately targeting Muslims and other minorities. Ethnic violence in Manipur has displaced over 60,000 people and killed more than 250 since May 2023, with little accountability for perpetrators.
We urge Global Affairs Canada to take the following actions:
- Issue a clear statement acknowledging and condemning the escalating violence, discrimination, and marginalization of Muslims and other minorities in India.
- During G7 bilateral meetings, press Prime Minister Modi to repeal discriminatory laws, investigate and prosecute hate crimes, and end practices like “bulldozer justice” that violate due process and target minorities.
- Incorporate human rights experts and conditions into trade and bilateral agreements with India to ensure that economic cooperation does not come at the expense of justice and protections for vulnerable communities.
- Work with G7 partners, the United Nations, and other allies to develop a coordinated strategy to urge the BJP-led government to uphold its international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and protect minority rights.