"Missing Families of Karabakh" thanks UN for shining light on longstanding tragedy Renews call to Armenia for accountability

The “Missing Families of Karabakh” Public Union has released a detailed statement regarding the recent adoption of the “Missing Persons” resolution by the United Nations General Assembly on November 15, 2024.

The statement began with the Union's expressing welcome to the adoption of the resolution on “Missing Persons” by the UN General Assembly, Caliber.Az reports citing local media.

It expressed its gratitude to the state of Azerbaijan, the main author of the document, as well as to other countries that supported it. 

"This international initiative put forward by Azerbaijan, along with the various international events on the issue of missing persons held in Azerbaijan in recent years, has raised hope for resolving this long-standing problem by keeping it on the global agenda," the statement reads.

The Public Union emphasizes the critical importance of the resolution, noting that it acknowledges the severe emotional and psychological toll on the families of the missing. The statement highlights that the issue of missing persons represents not just a personal tragedy but also a broader violation of fundamental human rights: "It is important that the resolution recognizes that the disappearance of individuals causes immense suffering for their families and paves the way for numerous human rights violations. Beyond leaving families in a state of agonizing uncertainty for decades, this problem disrupts family unity and denies our right to know the fate of our relatives."

The statement emphasizes that the resolution calls on states to take all necessary measures to prevent people from going missing, properly investigate the causes of such occurrences, clarify the fate of missing persons, and support and cooperate with the families of the missing.

The statement brings attention to the devastating scale of the issue for Azerbaijanis: "About four thousand of our compatriots went missing during the First Karabakh War and a further six persons during the Second Karabakh War. Among them are children and women. Two to seven members of 61 families went missing during the First Karabakh War, and no information about them has been provided to us by Armenia over these years. This indicates that the families of the missing Azerbaijanis are facing a great human tragedy."

The Public Union describes the liberation of Azerbaijani territories as a turning point, offering an opportunity to locate and identify remains in areas previously under Armenian occupation. However, the discovery of 22 mass graves in these liberated areas underscores the scale of the atrocity and the challenges ahead.

"Although this work has raised great hopes that the years of uncertainty would end, the discovery of only 22 mass graves in the liberated territories — because of Armenia's failure to provide information about them to the Azerbaijani side — is extremely disappointing for us. The fact that our dear ones were treated and killed in such an inhumane manner, with their remains hidden in mass graves for years, again proves the scale of the injustice we are facing," the statement reads.

The Union expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani government for its continued efforts in recovering and identifying the remains of missing persons and organizing funeral ceremonies worthy of the martyrs' memory. 

"A number of families of missing persons have already found some comfort and ended the longing that has persisted for nearly thirty years, replacing the tragedies of uncertainty with the consolation of having a tombstone for their loved ones," the Union said.

However, thousands of families of missing persons are still waiting for this consolation.

The statement underscores the importance that the document adopted by the UN also expresses concern about the obstacles posed by the landmine problem to clarify the fate of the missing and calls on states to cooperate in the safe search for human remains.

"We know from our own experience that despite the fact that our lands have been free for more than four years, Azerbaijani IDPs still yearn for their homeland due to the danger of landmines. In addition to causing the deaths and injuries of nearly 400 of our compatriots over the past four years, these cruel traps hinder the work being carried out in these territories, including the search for the remains of the missing," the statement reads.

The “Missing Families of Karabakh” Public Union calls on Armenia to fulfil its international obligations and comply with the UNGA resolution’s requirements:

"We demand that Armenia stop the violation of our rights, which has continued for more than 30 years, provide information about the location of mass graves, and punish those who committed these crimes. Every missing family has the right to know the fate of their relative!”

By Tamilla Hasanova