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for Abdelrazik

Listen to an audio statement from Abousfian Abdelrazik on April 1st, 2009 by clicking the play button below. You can download the MP3 here.

DELEGATION TO VISIT UNITED NATIONS IN SUPPORT OF ABDELRAZIK

Press Conference

Wednesday, 15 June, 11am

Centre St. Pierre, 1212 Panet St., Montreal

Speakers:
Mr. Abousfian Abdelrazik
Ms. Emilie Breton, Project Fly Home
Mr. Dolores Chew, South Asian Women's Community Centre
Mr. Philippe Robert de Massy, Ligue des droits et libertés

Other delegation members will also be present to answer questions: Mr. Karl Flecker, Canadian Labour Congress; Ms. Nicole Leach, Regina Solidarity Group; Mr. Pierre Jasmin, Artists for Peace; Mr. James Loney, Christian Peacemakers Teams; and Mr. Sameer Zuberi, Canadian Muslim Forum.

On Wednesday, a seven-person delegation will travel to New York in an effort to help a Montreal man regain the freedom that was taken from him when he was arbitrarily placed on a UN blacklist in 2006. The delegation, which is backed by almost 80 Canadian organizations, will meet with a representative of the UN Security Council 1267-Committee which is responsible for overseeing the UN blacklist that has kept Mr. Abdelrazik in a "prison without walls" for five years.

Because his name was added to this list, Mr. Abdelrazik is subject, indefinitely, to severe sanctions - an asset freeze and an international travel ban. In Canada, this means that it is a crime to provide Mr. Abdelrazik with any financial assistance, including a loan, gift, salary or social assistance. This effectively makes it impossible for Mr. Abdelrazik to work. His children were recently refused child assistance benefits by the Régie des rentes du Québec because his name appears on the blacklist.

The processes of getting on and off the list lack all transparency and fairness. The blacklist regime has in fact come under increasing attack on human rights grounds in recent years. However, it remains a convenient tool for powerful members of the Security Council. According to media reports, while the Project Fly Home delegation is in New York, the 1267-Committee will be considering delisting key Taliban members as part of a political deal in Afghanistan.

The delegation will leave for New York immediately after the press conference. The meeting with the 1267-Committee spokesperson will take place on Thursday morning, and will be followed by a press point outside the UN compound in New York.

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