CANBERRA: Member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson MP has signed an affirmation of support for the Joint Justice Initiative, continuing his call on the Australian Government to recognise the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides of 1915.
The
February 2020 launch of the Joint Justice Initiative at Australia's Parliament House featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), Assyrian National Council - Australia (ANC) and Australian Hellenic Council (AHC), which declares Australia's recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides as a priority on behalf of their communities.
Wilson, who is the only current Federal parliamentarian with Armenian ancestry, has continually called for Australia to recognise the Ottoman-committed genocides of 1915. In 2018, he championed a private members motion recognising the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and was part of the first federal delegation to visit Armenia and its Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.
Wilson has also brought attention to the plight of the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks through multiple public speeches in Parliament and before entering politics as a Human Rights Commissioner.
Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), Haig Kayserian thanked Wilson for his ongoing support.
“Mr. Tim Wilson is a standard-setter in advocacy for Armenian Genocide recognition by Australia’s Parliament and Government, and our three communities are honoured by his membership in the Joint Justice Initiative,” said Kayserian.
The Joint Justice Initiative has so far announced the support of Wilson,
Senator Janet Rice,
Steve Georganas MP,
Michael Sukkar MP,
Senator Louise Pratt,
Warren Entsch,
Joel Fitzgibbon MP,
Andrew Wilkie MP,
Julian Leeser MP,
Michelle Rowland MP,
Senator Paul Scarr,
Tony Zappia MP,
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young,
Senator Hollie Hughes,
Senator Rex Patrick,
Mike Freelander MP,
Senator Eric Abetz,
Senator Larissa Waters,
Senator Pat Dodson,
Jason Falinski MP,
Josh Burns MP,
John Alexander MP,
Senator Andrew Bragg and
Bob Katter MP with a promise of more announcements to come.
On 25th February 2020, over 100 Federal Australian parliamentarians, diplomats, departmental officials, political staffers, academics, media and community leaders were treated to cultural performances, food, wine and brandy, as well as the historic signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which affirmed that the signatory public affairs representatives of the three communities were jointly committed to seeing Australia recognise the Turkish-committed Genocides against the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian citizens of the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
More information here.
