Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a long way from home, but I want to spend my two minutes today talking about the plight of Christian Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region which has been blockaded since 12 December 2022 by the government of Azerbaijan, and the impact that is having on the lives and the welfare of those Armenians who are trapped inside. The blockade occurring on the Lachin Corridor has been going on since mid-December last year. It has caught the attention of and has been the cause of a decision by the International Court of Justice, which made an order on 22 February this year, stating:

…the disruption on the Lachin Corridor has impeded the transfer of persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin hospitalized in Nagorno-Karabakh to medical facilities in Armenia for urgent medical care. The evidence also indicates that there have been hindrances to the importation into Nagorno-Karabakh of essential goods, causing shortages of food, medicine and other life-saving medical supplies.

Both major parties in this place have called out the government of Azerbaijan for its unethical, illegal activity in blockading this community. Ninety-nine per cent of this community is Christian, which one cannot ignore as a factor in the decision that's being taken by the government of Azerbaijan. I support my colleagues Senator Simon Birmingham and, of course, the foreign minister, Senator Wong, in their calls, as part of a civilised and democratic Western world, to have the government of Azerbaijan remove this blockade, create peace and allow humanity to exist in a civilised way in this region, Nagorno-Karabakh, for the Armenian Christian community.