Between 1914 and 1923, the Ottoman Turks carried out a coordinated campaign of mass killings, deportation and forced starvation of its Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Christian minorities in what more than thirty countries, including the United States, France, Germany and Canada, have formally recognised as genocide.

Unfortunately, Australia is not one of them.

On Tuesday, 11 August 2026, advocates from The Joint Justice Initiative returned to Parliament House to urge the Federal Government to recognise the 1915 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, not just to address a long-standing historical grievance, but to challenge Australia's moral conscience.

Related: The Assyrian Genocide

The Joint Justice Initiative -- comprised of representatives from the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), the Assyrian National Council -- Australia (ANCA) and the Australian Hellenic Council (AHC) -- was established in 2020 to advocate for federal recognition of the 1915 Genocides jointly.

As the eminent holocaust scholar Associate Professor Dr Melanie O'Brien has stated:

"It is crucial that Australia recognise the genocide of the indigenous Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic populations of the Ottoman Empire by the Ottoman and Republican governments. It is important to acknowledge the reality of the crimes committed against the victims, survivors and their descendants -- some of whom are Australian citizens -- and to contribute to the prevention of future genocides."

Throughout the day, delegates met with Senator Andrew McLachlan CSC (SA); Senator Paul Scarr (QLD); Senator Jess Collins (NSW) and Senator Lidia Thorpe (VIC) as well as the chiefs of staff of Senator David Pocock (ACT) and Senator Fatima Payman (WA).

The delegation briefed the parliamentarians on the history of the 1915 Genocides and Australia's military and humanitarian response. They emphasised that recognition would not only deliver justice and acknowledgement to the three survivor communities, but also honour one of Australia's earliest major international humanitarian efforts.

The delegation also sought to broaden parliamentary support for federal recognition by securing additional signatories to the Joint Justice Initiative Accord, a growing coalition of federal parliamentarians who have publicly affirmed their support for the recognition of the Genocides.

In 2020, Senator Paul Scarr added his support to the Joint Justice Initiative by signing the Affirmation of Support calling on the Federal Government to formally recognise the genocides and to reject genocide denial in all its forms against all people.

At the time, he declared: "I understand the importance of recognising historical truths."

In 2025 the Independent Senator publicly declared that "genocide denial is a form of ongoing violence ... it erases truth, silences survivors, and denies justice".

Back in late 2024 Sentaor Thorpe, together with fellow independent Senator Payman, Senators Thorpe and Payman in late 2024 had in fact introduced a series of private bills known as the "Genocide Red Lines Package" seeking to enforce strict adherence to international humanitarian law, including the closure of legal gaps that permit Australian public funds, defence exports, investments and trade to contribute, directly or indirectly, to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

That campaign is now being revived with a new suite of proposed legislative reforms to be launched in September 2026.

Speaking following the Joint Justice Initiative meetings in the Upper Chamber of Federal Parliament, ANC-AU Political Affairs Director Sebastian Majarian said:

"It was a privilege to join our allies from the Assyrian and Greek communities in Parliament to advocate for recognition of our shared history -- not only as descendants of genocide survivors, but as Australians proud of our nation's military and humanitarian response to the 1915 Genocides."

Majarian also pointed out that Australian nurses had served in the region, Australian missionaries sheltered refugees, and ordinary citizens donated to relief funds for survivors in what was one of the then fledgling nation's earliest major international humanitarian efforts.

He added: "The Australian Government's continued failure to formally recognise these genocides is therefore not only a profound injustice to the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek survivor communities; it is also a disservice to the Australians who stood with them in their darkest hour."

The visit to Canberra followed closely on the heels of the official remembrance ceremonies to commemorate Assyrian Martyrs Day that were held around the country on 7 August 2026 in honour of the Assyrians massacred by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923. Members of the Joint Justice Initiative attended the ceremony in Sydney and continue to stand in solidarity with the Assyrian-Australian community in honouring the martyrs of that genocide.

The visit to Canberra also coincided with the recent release of a seminal work by researcher and historian, Dr Themistocles Kritikakos titled Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide Recognition in Twenty-First Century Australia: Memory, Identity, and Cooperation.

Published by Palgrave Macmillan in January 2026, the book examines the enduring legacies of the three genocides and traces the local Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities' efforts to secure recognition within Australia, whilst also deepening the reader's understanding of the Ottoman genocidal campaign's long-term consequences.

The Joint Justice Initiative remains committed to securing Federal recognition of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides and will continue advocating in parliaments across Australia until the Federal Government formally accepts the truth of those terrible events and acknowledges this history.

George Vardas is the Arts and Culture Editor and is also a member of the Joint Justice Initiative.