Turkish official: Issue of missing persons remains a challenge today

Azerbaijan and Türkiye continue to move on in the spirit of multidimensional cooperation in all spheres, including on the issues of missing persons, Deputy Minister of Justice of Türkiye Hurşit Yıldırım has said.

He made the statement at an international conference titled “Uniting Efforts and Expanding Cooperation to Address the Issue of Missing Persons,” which is underway in Baku on October 9, Caliber.Az reports, per local media. 

“I believe this international event dedicated to the issue of missing persons is of great importance for all participating countries. Azerbaijan and Türkiye act within the framework of multidimensional codes in all fields. The problem of missing persons is not only a matter of the past but also of the present,” he added.

Yıldırım stressed that technological innovations must be used to determine the whereabouts and identities of missing persons.

Azerbaijan continues to grapple with the unresolved issue of missing persons resulting from the Karabakh conflict, which has persisted since the late 1980s. The State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons of Azerbaijan has officially registered 3,990 individuals as missing, with nearly 3,200 of them being military personnel.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been actively involved in this humanitarian crisis, submitting eight formal lists of missing persons to the Azerbaijani authorities. The ICRC's Baku delegation has been engaged in this mission since 1992.

The families of the missing continue to endure prolonged uncertainty. For instance, in 2023, the remains of a missing Azerbaijani soldier were identified and returned to his family after 31 years, providing a rare moment of closure. However, many families still await answers, highlighting the ongoing challenges in resolving cases of missing persons.

By Khagan Isayev