SYDNEY: The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) has issued a direct appeal to Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, calling for Australia’s voice and influence to help secure the release of twenty-three Armenian hostages currently detained by Azerbaijan and the protection of Armenian cultural and religious sites in Artsakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).
From the outset, NCCA General Secretary Elizabeth Stone conveyed the Council’s appreciation to the Foreign Minister for her continued attention to the issue, acknowledging the $500,000 in humanitarian aid provided to the UNHCR to assist Armenian refugees, as well as her call for Azerbaijan to guarantee the rights and security of the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, including those wishing to return from Armenia.
Addressing the plight of Armenian hostages, the letter asserts: “Currently, 23 former high-ranking public officials from Artsakh are illegally detained in Baku. Many of the hostages have been subjected to torture and degrading treatment, as documented by human rights organisations.”
The statement draws the Australian Foreign Minister’s attention to the World Council of Churches announcement and the European Parliaments Motion March 2025 calling for the release of hostages, before urging the Foreign Minister to “to take all available measures to work for the release of these hostages”.
The letter goes on to call for the protection of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh. Stone states, “Since Azerbaijan's complete occupation of Artsakh, the desecration and destruction of Armenian religious and cultural sites has escalated.” and urges the Australian Foreign Minister to “use your influence to advocate for the protection of the Christian heritage of Artsakh and the sacredness of all religious and cultural traditions there.”
In November 2022, following Azerbaijan’s attack on the sovereign borders of Armenia, the Foreign Minister responded positively to the NCCA’s concern regarding the desecration of Armenian religious and cultural sites. In response to the NCCA, Foreign Minister Wong said, "We are concerned by recent reports of damage to Armenian religious and historical buildings, which continues the disappointing pattern of damage and misuse of civilian, cultural, religious and historical sites in and around Nagorno Karabakh since the 1990s.”
The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) welcomed this latest appeal from one of the nation’s largest and most influential Christian organisations, expressing hope that it will prompt a renewed affirmation of Australia’s commitment to protecting Armenian cultural and religious heritage, as well as a clear and vocal stance urging Azerbaijan to release the Armenian hostages.
Kolokossian said, “We need to stand with the world’s first Christian nation. There is so much pain in the world right now, and we cannot sit idly by while Armenia is weakened at the negotiating table and carved up by larger powers with harmful agendas. Australia may be far away, but it has always taken a moral stance — and it can, and should, do more.”
Dated 31 July 2025, the letter marks the second occasion on which National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) General Secretary Elizabeth Stone has written to the Australian Foreign Minister regarding Artsakh, on behalf of 18 national member churches. Established in 1994, the NCCA is an associate council of the World Council of Churches and works in partnership with state ecumenical councils across Australia.
