The petition on the Australian Parliament’s website calling for the recognition of the Republic of Artsakh was presented to the House of Representatives on Monday 15th February 2021 by the Standing Committee on Petitions, and has been referred to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne.
A total of 3,164 Australians signed the Armenian National Committee of Australia’s (ANC-AU) petition, calling on the nation’s lawmakers and Government to follow the lead of the French Parliament, New South Wales Legislative Assembly and other legislatures and recognise the rights to self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh, which is currently partially occupied by Azerbaijan following their Turkey-backed and terrorist-fuelled attacks against the nation’s indigenous Armenians.
Under the petition requirements, Ministers have 90 days from presentation in the House to respond to the petition.
A letter from the Standing Committee on Petitions read: “The petition was considered at a recent meeting of the Committee, and certified as meeting the requirements for petitions. It was presented to the House on 15/02/2021 and has recently been referred to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.”
“We look forward to a response from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who we call on to lead Australia’s Government to the side of justice and support the safety and integrity of our ancestral homeland,” said ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian.