Posted: Friday, 10 December 2010

Hassan Yussuff, CLC Secretary-Treasurer, presented funds raised from the labour movement to Abousfian Abdelrazik on December 10, International Human Rights Day. The presentation occurred during a CLC-sponsored conference in Ottawa called Rise Up for Your Rights.

Abdelrazik, a Canadian, returned 16 months ago after six years in exile in Sudan, including a year in which he was trapped within the Canadian consulate in Khartoum. He has never been charged with any crime but his name remains on a UN Security Council “black list” which imposes sanctions on individuals, including an international travel ban and a freeze of assets.

In Canada, under the terms of the sanctions, a donation or payment of a salary to Abdelrazik could be considered illegal. The CLC, several affiliate unions and labour councils challenged those sanctions by hiring Abdelrazik to undertake a speaking tour in Western Canada between November 17-23. In handing over the sanctions-busting salary to Abdelrazik, Yussuff said: “Labour is pleased to stand up against these inhuman and grievous violations of human rights.”

Check out the video.