Richard Falk, a 95-year-old former UN special rapporteur, says he and his wife were detained and questioned for over four hours by Canadian border officials at Toronto Pearson Airport while travelling to a Gaza-related tribunal in Ottawa. The Canada Border Services Agency declined to comment on specific cases, saying privacy rules apply, and described secondary inspections as a routine border measure. Supporters and human rights advocates criticised the detention as a potential attempt to silence critics of Israel, while the tribunal examined Canada's role in a campaign against Gaza that a UN inquiry and rights groups have described as genocide. Gaza health authorities report continued casualties and severe humanitarian shortages despite a recent ceasefire.
Former UN Rapporteur Richard Falk Detained at Toronto Airport, Says He Was Questioned on 'National Security' Grounds
Richard Falk, a 95-year-old former UN special rapporteur, says he and his wife were detained and questioned for over four hours by Canadian border officials at Toronto Pearson Airport while travelling to a Gaza-related tribunal in Ottawa. The Canada Border Services Agency declined to comment on specific cases, saying privacy rules apply, and described secondary inspections as a routine border measure. Supporters and human rights advocates criticised the detention as a potential attempt to silence critics of Israel, while the tribunal examined Canada's role in a campaign against Gaza that a UN inquiry and rights groups have described as genocide. Gaza health authorities report continued casualties and severe humanitarian shortages despite a recent ceasefire.
Former UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk Detained and Questioned in Canada
Montreal/Toronto, Canada — Richard Falk, a 95-year-old former United Nations special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, says he and his wife, legal scholar Hilal Elver, were detained and questioned for more than four hours by Canadian border officials at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The couple were travelling to Ottawa to take part in the Palestine Tribunal on Canadian Responsibility.
Falk told Al Jazeera the detention began when an officer informed them they were being held because authorities were "concerned that you pose a national security threat to Canada." He described the interrogation as the first such experience in his life and said the questioning — while lengthy — felt "sort of random and disorganised."
"A security person came and said, 'We've detained you both because we're concerned that you pose a national security threat to Canada,'" Falk said in an interview from Ottawa.
The Palestine Tribunal convened international human rights and legal experts to examine Canada's role in what participants described as a two-year Israeli bombardment of Gaza. A UN inquiry and numerous rights groups have characterised the campaign as genocide; the tribunal focused on Canada's political and material links to the conflict.
According to Falk, the questioning probed their work on Israel and Gaza and broader issues related to genocide. Falk suggested the detention fits a wider pattern of pressure on critics of Israel, saying it reflects "a climate of governmental insecurity" and an effort to "clamp down on dissident voices."
Official Response
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which oversees entry into the country, declined to comment on specific cases, citing privacy rules. CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy told Al Jazeera that the agency's role "is to assess the security risk and admissibility of persons coming to Canada," and that this process "may include primary interviews and secondary examinations." She added that referral for secondary inspection is a normal part of the cross-border process and should not be taken as an indication of wrongdoing.
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Falk's allegation that his interrogation is part of a broader global crackdown on opposition to Israel's Gaza campaign.
Reactions and Context
Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo, a supporter of the Palestine Tribunal, said he was "appalled" that two international law and human rights experts were questioned on the basis that they might pose a national security threat. Woo said that if attending the tribunal and documenting alleged abuses in Gaza are the reasons for detention, it raises serious questions about Canada’s stance on free expression and human rights advocacy.
Like other Western countries, Canada has faced increasing pressure to reconsider its support for Israel amid a conflict that has killed many Palestinians and produced a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In 2024, Ottawa announced it was suspending some weapons permits to Israel, though rights groups and researchers argue that loopholes in export controls have allowed Canadian-made materiel to continue reaching Israel through third countries, including the United States.
Rights organizations continue to call for accountability for alleged abuses in Gaza, including potential war crimes. At the tribunal's closing session, Rachel Small, Canada organiser for World Beyond War, warned that the violence continues and pointed to the international flow of weapons as a enabling factor.
Health authorities in Gaza reported that at least 260 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire deal took effect last month, and many civilians remain without adequate food, water, medicine and shelter amid strict limits on humanitarian aid deliveries.
Falk told Al Jazeera that, given the ongoing conditions in Gaza, it is "more important than ever" to document and expose what he described as continuing patterns of violence. He cautioned against assuming the crisis has passed, saying some observers describe the present conduct as an "incremental genocide" carried out in a less intense but sustained manner.
Note: All casualty figures and descriptions of alleged crimes are attributed to sources cited in the original reporting, including Gaza health authorities, a UN inquiry and rights groups.