Armenia continues to withhold information on missing persons Azerbaijan urges international community for action

On August 30, marking the International Day of the Disappeared, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement via X platform, highlighting Armenia's persistent refusal to disclose information about individuals missing from the First Karabakh War.

Azerbaijan has called on the international community to take decisive action to determine the fate of its missing citizens, Caliber.Az reports.

On the #InternationalDayofDisappeared, #Azerbaijan reiterates the necessity of shedding light on the fate of our citizens who went missing during the former occupation and conflict.

Despite the fact that multiple mass graves have been identified after the liberation of our… pic.twitter.com/p9H7mnizFD

— MFA Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 (@AzerbaijanMFA) August 30, 2024

“On the International Day of Disappeared, Azerbaijan reiterates the necessity of shedding light on the fate of our citizens who went missing during the former occupation and conflict.

Despite the fact that multiple mass graves have been identified after the liberation of our territories, Armenia keeps refusing to reveal the whereabouts of missing persons.

Families of about 4,000 persons have been waiting for their loved ones for decades, and it is within their fundamental rights to get information about their relatives.

International community must take decisive steps to determine the fate of missing persons.

Azerbaijan will continue its efforts on identifying the fate of missing Azerbaijanis,” the post by the ministry says.
Enforced disappearance is a problem encountered by thousands in Azerbaijan for almost three decades. 3890 persons (3171 servicemen, 719 civilians) from Azerbaijan are still missing as a result of the aggression by Armenia. 

Armenia extensively practiced taking and holding of hostages and mistreatment and summary execution of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and hostages since the early 1990s.

Despite the fact that the taking of hostages is clearly prohibited by international humanitarian law, 267 Azerbaijani civilians (including 29 children; 98 women; 112 elderly people) were taken hostage and weren’t released by Armenia. 

Until now, 1102 Azerbaijani hostages (including 224 children; 357 women; 225 elderly people) have been subsequently released from Armenian captivity.