UNITED NATIONS - A group of Canadians urged United Nations officials in New York on Thursday to take the rare step of removing a Montreal man's name from the UN's no-fly list.
But the delegation of supporters for Abousfian Abdelrazik left the two-hour meeting with their expectations in check.
"Well, I don't know," delegation member James Loney said when asked whether he thought the meeting could eventually get Abdelrazik's name stricken from the terror watchlist.
"I'm cautiously hopeful, I would say."
Abdelrazik, a Sudanese-Canadian with alleged connections to terrorism and Osama bin Laden, is barred from working because of the UN sanctions, which include an asset freeze and travel ban. Since 2006, he has been on the UN blacklist, which has kept his life in limbo.
The seven-member delegation, backed by more than 90 Canadian organizations, drove to New York City to meet with representatives of the committee monitoring sanctions against al Qaeda and the Taliban. The committee is chaired by Germany.
Loney, a former hostage in Iraq, said the officials watched a video statement from Abdelrazik and they promised to relay the group's concerns.
But the representatives also noted the importance of preventative tools, such as the 1267 blacklist.
The UN representatives asked Abdelrazik to trust the de-listing process. Loney said that would be difficult for a man whose name remains on the list, despite the acknowledgments from CSIS and the RCMP that they have no evidence against him.
"I would say that is very difficult to do, given that there has been no fairness, no transparency in the five years that he has been on this list," Loney said in an interview from New York City.
Still, he believes the delegation made some progress on Abdelrazik's behalf. He said one official told the group that its presentation served as a reminder that the names aren't just pieces of paper, and represent real human beings.
Abdelrazik was kept in forced exile in Sudan for six years, some of which was spent in jail where he alleges he was tortured. He was cleared to return to Canada in 2009.
But being on the UN no-fly list means he is not permitted to earn a paycheque or accept material support from anyone.
The Quebec government recently told the single father he cannot receive regular child-assistance benefits because his name is on the list.
With files from The Associated Press
