KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Australia’s New South Wales Parliament on Thursday formally recognized the late-19th-century genocide of Afghanistan’s Hazaras under former Afghan ruler Amir Abdur Rahman Khan and designated September 25 as “Hazara Black Day.”
The upper house of the state parliament passed notice of motion No. 3773, introduced by legislative council member Anthony D’Adam, with broad cross-party support. The resolution makes the recognition the official position of the state’s legislative council and urges Australia’s federal government to recognize and condemn the genocide at the national level.
According to the motion, Abdur Rahman Khan, who ruled Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901, launched systematic military campaigns against the Hazara community between 1888 and 1893. The campaigns resulted in the massacre of more than 60% of the Hazara population, the forced displacement of large numbers of survivors, and the enslavement of many others. The motion describes these events as genocide.
The text also notes that Hazaras have faced ongoing systemic oppression, massacres, targeted sexual violence, slavery, religious discrimination and forced displacement from the 19th century through to the present day. It states that the situation has deteriorated further since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 and with the expanded operations of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).
D’Adam proposed designating September 25 as “Hazara Black Day”, a date observed by Hazara activists to commemorate the victims of the genocide and remember the suffering inflicted on their community. The resolution also emphasizes the importance of remembering historical atrocities and learning from them to help prevent similar crimes in the future.
Hazaras, a predominantly Shia Muslim ethnic minority in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, have faced decades of discrimination, marginalization and targeted violence. The community has endured repeated attacks, including bombings of religious gatherings, schools, public transport and other civilian sites.
The situation for Hazaras has worsened significantly since the Taliban’s return to power, marked by an increase in violence and exclusion from basic services, education and employment. Many attacks against Hazaras remain unprosecuted, exacerbating their vulnerability.
The majority of attacks on Hazaras in recent years have been claimed by ISIS-K, the regional affiliate of ISIS, which considers the Hazara-Shia community “heretic.” Human Rights Watch reported in 2024 that ISIS-K claimed responsibility for at least 17 attacks against Hazaras since the Taliban takeover, killing and injuring more than 700 people.
Hazara activists have long called on the United Nations and the international community to formally acknowledge the violence against Hazaras as genocide and to take meaningful steps to prevent further atrocities.
The move follows similar recognitions in recent years. In 2025, East Staffordshire Borough Council in the United Kingdom recognised the genocide of Hazaras between 1891 and 1893 under Amir Abdur Rahman Khan. In November 2022, Dandenong City Council in Melbourne became the first governmental body in Australia to officially recognise the Hazara genocide.
