Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to present a petition passed on to me by Colin Johnston, Managing Director of Barnabas Fund Australia Ltd. The petition has been signed by 6,738 people and draws the attention of the House to the genocide of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. The petition specifically asks the House to, firstly, recognise and classify Islamic State as a group controlling large parts of Syria and Iraq that is intentionally engaged in genocidal actions and other serious crimes against Christians, Yazidis and other minorities; and, secondly, to take all possible measures to assist victims of genocide in Syria and Iraq and to affirm the government's duty under article 1 of the United Nations' 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to prevent and punish the crime under international law.

The persecution of Christians dates back to the life of Jesus Christ, and it has continued ever since. Roman Emperor Nero saw it as public entertainment to throw Christians to the lions. In more recent times, in equally barbaric acts, IS have similarly made the killing of Christians a public spectacle, using gruesome videos of the beheadings to advance their ideology. The shooting and beheading of 21 shackled Coptic Christians in Libya in 2015 is a case in point.

Today, around 215 million Christians around the world are facing some level of persecution, and 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination are against Christians. The Centre for Studies on New Religions estimates that 90,000 Christians were killed in 2016 because of their faith. Last year, I understand, the US Congress declared that the Islamic state persecution of Christians and other minorities constituted genocide. Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks—in fact, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks—told the House of Lords recently that the suffering of the Middle East and Christians is 'one of the crimes against humanity of our time'.

What is just as shameful is the silence about Christian persecution from the Western world. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have been particularly brutal towards Christians, Yazidis and other minorities. In Syria, the Christian population has been reduced from around 1.2 million in 2011 to less than 500,000 by October 2016. The figure is much lower today, as since October thousands more Christians have fled Syria or have been killed. Since 2003, the Christian population in Iraq has fallen from 1.5 million to an estimated 300,000. Those who have managed to flee have then been further persecuted by being turned away from refugee camps or other shelters and even food relief centres. Barnabas Aid have endeavoured to provide food, shelter and other assistance wherever it can, but world governments continue to turn a blind eye to the persecution of Christians and other minorities wherever it occurs, and that needs to stop. I present the petition and ask that it be referred to the petitions committee for consideration.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for that very heartfelt contribution. The document will be forwarded to the Standing Committee on Petitions for its consideration and will be accepted subject to confirmation by the committee that it conforms to the standing orders.