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e-3780 (Foreign affairs)

E-petition
Initiated by Nika Jabiyeva from Thornhill, Ontario

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • February 26, 2022, marks the 30 years since the massacre of 613 Azerbaijani civilians by the Armenian Army in a small mountain town of Khojali, Azerbaijan;
  • International media widely reported on the Khojali Massacre in 1992, documenting the gruesome details of the extermination of Khojali’s Azerbaijani population;
  • For 30 years, Armenia kept Azerbaijan’s entire Karabakh region under illegal occupation, while ethnically cleansing nearly 800,000 Azerbaijani out of their ancestral homes;
  • The UN Security Council adopted four resolutions (#822, #853, #874, #884) in 1993, condemning the occupation and demanding Armenian forces’ “immediate and complete withdrawal out of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan";
  • Since the massacre, Armenia has refused to acknowledge the atrocity to pave the way for peace in the region;
  • Canada has been consistent in its firm support to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and always stood for the reconciliation and peace-building between Azerbaijanis and Armenians; and
  • Canada’s 100,000 Azerbaijani-speaking community has been marking the day of remembrance of the massacre for the past 30 years, awaiting an acknowledgement of this day by the Canadian government.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Officially condemn the Khojali Massacre, committed by the Armed Forces of Armenia on the night of February 26, 1992, as a crime against humanity;
2. Declare February 26 as a National Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Khojali Massacre; and
3. Work with the Governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia to bring about the normalization of relations, demarcation and delimitation of the borders between the two countries, with the aim of supporting sustainable peace in the region.

Response by the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Rob Oliphant

The Government of Canada recognizes the Khojaly massacre as a terrible tragedy and remembers the victims who lost their lives, and the continuing suffering, with great sadness. Canada has strongly advocated that such a tragic loss of civilian lives as the Khojaly massacre must never be repeated.

Canada recognizes all UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Canada encourages the continuation of leader-level dialogue on undertaking important confidence-building measures, such as the creation of bilateral mechanisms of border demarcations and delimitations, as well as restoring regional connectivity links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Canada welcomed these developments and continues to strongly support the ongoing and future works of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group. Canada encourages continued progress towards finding a sustainable political solution to this regional conflict.

Global Affairs Canada maintains a regular dialogue with Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities and the diaspora communities in Canada, such as the meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Network of Azerbaijani Canadians (NAC) in December 2021, as well as the meetings between Canada’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan and the NAC in December 2021 and Canada’s Ambassador to Armenia and the NAC in November 2021.

Canada will continue to support initiatives toward bringing peace and stability to the region and stands ready to contribute to these efforts.

Open for signature
January 12, 2022, at 8:56 a.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
February 11, 2022, at 8:56 a.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Michael Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton)
February 16, 2022 (Petition No. 441-00193)
Government response tabled
April 1, 2022
Photo - Michael Cooper
St. Albert—Edmonton
Conservative Caucus
Alberta