CANBERRA: As part of the Armenian National Committee of Australia’s (ANC-AU) annual Advocacy Week, a delegation led by Human Rights Lawyer Siranush Sahakyan and members of the ANC-AU National Office met with Australian lawmakers on 25 and 26 November 2025, to advocate for the release of Armenian hostages illegally detained in Azerbaijan.
Across two days of meetings facilitated by the ANC-AU at the Australian Federal Parliament in Canberra, Sahakyan briefed Australian legislators on the continued detention of twenty-three Armenian hostages by Azerbaijan, highlighting the serious legal and human rights concerns surrounding their imprisonment.
Sahakyan, a legal professional with over 15 years of experience in human rights advocacy, judicial reform, and anti-corruption policy, is the Director of the International & Comparative Law Centre, and currently represents many of the Armenian hostages held hostage by Azerbaijan in legal proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights.
During her time in the nation’s capital, Sahakyan met with Senior Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), as well as, the Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite MP - Member for Kingsford Smith and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade; Mr Josh Burns MP - Member for Macnamara; Mr Jerome Laxale MP - Member for Bennelong; Tim Wilson MP - Member for Goldstein; Ms Nicolette Boele MP - Member for Bradfield; Senator Jacqui Lambie - Senator for Tasmania; Senator Maria Kovacic - Senator for New South Wales; Senator David Shoebridge - Senator for New South Wales and Greens Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Senator Steph Hodgins-May - Senator for Victoria.
Throughout the meetings, the ANC-AU called on elected representatives to publicly condemn the illegal detention of Armenian hostages and to support their immediate and unconditional release. The ANC-AU also urged the Australian Government to adopt a stronger response, including the deployment of diplomatic observers to monitor and report on the ongoing show trials in Azerbaijan, to ensure greater transparency and accountability.
Following her visit to the Australian Federal Parliament, Sahakyan shared an intimate ‘Meet and Greet’ with members of the Armenian Youth Federation of Australia (AYF-AU) on Thursday, 27 November 2025, at the Armenian Cultural Panoyan Centre, where she discussed her work as an international human rights lawyer and the legal avenues available to call for the release of Armenian hostages. Ms Sahakyan concluded the 2025 Advocacy Week by attending the ANC-AU’s Sydney and Melbourne Galas, where she was honoured with the Raphael Lemkin Award in recognition of her distinguished human rights work on behalf of the Armenian people.
Summarising her time in Australia, Sahakyan said: “Although I wish I was visiting under brighter circumstances, I feel privileged to be invited to Australia to advocate on an important and urgent issue. I thank the ANC-AU and the community for their warm welcome and for facilitating these critical meetings.”
“It is heartening and inspiring to see that the diaspora has not given up on Artsakh or the homeland. I urge everyone not to lose this passion — apathy is our greatest enemy.” she continued.
The Armenian National Committee of Australia thanked Ms Sahakyan for her invaluable contribution to the organisation’s advocacy efforts, with ANC-AU Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian, saying: “We wish to express our sincere gratitude to Siranush for joining us as our 2025 Advocacy Week guest and lending us her expertise and insight to advocate on behalf of the Armenian-Australian community.”
“We are optimistic that, with Ms Sahakyan’s assistance, meaningful progress can be made in the Australian Government’s approach to this issue and that, as international pressure continues to grow, we will soon see the release of our hostages and Azerbaijan held to account.”
