Families of missing Azerbaijanis hold first protest abroad in Geneva PHOTO

On the International Day of the Disappeared, on August 30, the “Karabakh Missing Families” Public Union staged a protest in front of the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva, drawing attention to thousands of Azerbaijanis who remain unaccounted for as a result of the conflict with Armenia.

The demonstration took place at the symbolic “Broken Chair” monument, which represents victims of armed violence. Families of the missing displayed personal belongings and documents of their loved ones, while presenting original slogans that narrated the life stories of the disappeared in their own imagined voices, Caliber.Az reports via local media. 

Among the exhibits was the watch of missing Zahid Gasimov, accompanied by the words, “My time has stopped; has anyone noticed?” For Gurbat Hasanov, remembered through his scarf, the slogan read, “No scarf can warm me.” The shirt and handwritten notes of Telman Yusifov were displayed with the message, “My story has no end.”

Konul Behbudova, chairwoman of the Public Union, held documents belonging to her missing brother, Abbas Behbudov, under a sign declaring, “Documents are here, life is missing.” The mother of missing Ilham Dadashov, Elmira Dadashova, carried a photo of her son with the words, “Born to live, not to disappear.” Mahuru Shahin, the mother of missing Shahin Aliyev, displayed the slogan, “Countless dreams — all unfinished.” Farida Jabbarova, the wife of missing Azad Jabbarov, exhibited two backgammon dice left by her husband with the message, “Hope is as tiny as these dice,” expressing the exhaustion of years of waiting for news. A slogan dedicated to Reyhan Janiyeva, the wife of missing Saxavat Janiyev, read, “Reyhan, my love… only my silence reaches you?” Parvana Mammadova, the wife of missing Ogtay Mammadov, held the words, “Diploma, dreams... but suddenly, the silence of ages.”

One empty box symbolized the annihilation of the Mammadov family during the 1992 Khojaly genocide. Its inscription read: “The Mammadovs – a lost family: no graves, only echoes.”

 The protest also featured messages honouring other missing Azerbaijanis, including Natiq Malikov, Ixtiyar Mammadov, Bafadar Mirzayev, Feyruz Jalilov, Shirindil Hasanguliyev, Ismail Ismailov, Etibar Ahmadov, Aliyar Aliyev, Abulfat Aliyev, Telman Mustafayev, Shahin Aliyev, Aydin Karimov, Tayyar Aghayev, and others.

The demonstration attracted the attention of Geneva residents, who scanned QR codes to access information about the missing persons. Many approached the families, offering condolences and solidarity. This marked the first protest abroad by relatives of missing Azerbaijanis.

Two days earlier, on August 28, representatives of the Public Union had met with the Secretariat of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) in Geneva, the first time their appeal was formally addressed at the UN level. During the meeting, families voiced frustration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, saying their trust in the organisation’s ability to provide information on missing persons had been seriously undermined. They called for the urgent appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on missing persons.

According to the Public Union, 3,990 Azerbaijani citizens remain missing as a result of Armenia’s military actions, including six who disappeared during the 2020 war. Among them are 71 children, 284 women, and 316 elderly people. The group stressed that international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions of 1949, guarantees the right of families to know the fate of relatives who go missing during armed conflicts.

Families also demanded accountability, noting that no one has been prosecuted in Armenia for war crimes against Azerbaijanis. Instead, they said, those accused have at times been celebrated as heroes in Armenian society. They further pointed to the discovery of 28 mass graves in territories liberated by Azerbaijan since 2020, which they said revealed “a horrifying picture” of mass killings, inhumane burials, and the erasure of victims’ traces. The Public Union emphasised that in some cases, entire families vanished together: during the First Karabakh War, between two and seven members of 61 families disappeared, and their fate remains unknown.

The families urged Armenia to provide maps of the mass graves, calling it an essential step toward truth and accountability.