Azerbaijan's ombudsman urges greater efforts to clarify fate of missing persons PHOTO

Azerbaijan's Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman), Sabina Aliyeva, has called for greater international efforts to determine the fate of missing persons, describing the issue as a humanitarian obligation rooted in international law and respect for human dignity.

In a statement, Aliyeva said determining the fate of those who remain missing is essential to protecting families' right to know the truth and to ensuring they can bury their loved ones with dignity, Caliber.Az reports. 

"Determining the fate of missing persons is a matter of respecting every family's right to know the truth, protecting human dignity, and upholding humanitarian values," she said.

Aliyeva noted that while armed conflicts may have ended, many families continue to live for years without information about the fate of missing relatives. She said ending this uncertainty is a fundamental principle of international humanitarian law.

The ombudsman highlighted Azerbaijan's efforts to identify missing persons from the First Karabakh War and the 2020 Karabakh War, including locating mass graves and using advanced genetic identification technologies to identify human remains.

She said Azerbaijan's expertise in forensic identification has gained international recognition and cited the country's assistance to Ukraine in efforts to locate missing persons as an example of its humanitarian cooperation.

Aliyeva also called on Armenia to fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian law by providing information on Azerbaijani citizens who went missing during the two conflicts, including details on the locations of mass graves, and by cooperating in efforts to establish their fate.

She stressed that humanitarian issues should not be politicised, adding that resolving cases of missing persons is both a legal obligation and a moral responsibility that contributes to peace, justice, and mutual trust.

By Sabina Mammadli