The Fourth International Conference on Missing Persons opened in Baku under the title "Building Confidence and Developing Effective Mechanisms and Solutions to Address the Issue of Missing Persons."
Organised by Azerbaijan's State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons under the Baku Dialogue, the event runs from October 7 to 10 and brings together former heads of state and government, international officials, agency heads, experts, non-governmental organizations representatives, and diplomats.
President Ilham Aliyev's message, read out by Commission chairman Ali Naghiyev, stressed that supporting every affected family is a moral duty.
"The effectiveness of the search for missing persons depends directly on obtaining accurate information. Armenia must provide all information regarding the fate of missing Azerbaijanis, as well as mass graves and individual burial sites, and create conditions for opening relevant archives and collecting witness statements",
Ilham Aliyev said.
Providing this information would not only be a legal obligation and humanitarian responsibility, but also a practical expression of commitment to peace and a contribution to strengthening mutual trust.
"Information concerning human lives must not be subject to politicization",
Aliyev said.
The president noted that 4,010 Azerbaijanis, including children, women, and the elderly, remain listed as missing after more than 30 years of Armenian aggression, and regretted that ICRC efforts have not yielded results.
Azerbaijan's victory and the liberation of territories from years of Armenian occupation have opened up new opportunities for the search for missing persons.
"Today, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons is expanding its activities and carrying out intensive measures to determine the whereabouts of missing citizens and identify mass graves. To date, 32 mass graves have been discovered in our liberated territories",
Ilham Aliyev said.
Forensic analysis of human remains indicate that the Azerbaijanis who were killed had been subjected to torture, Aliyev added.
"Concealing prisoners of war and hostages from international organizations, killing them under torture and covering up traces of crimes constitute gross violations of international law. These acts must be given a legal assessment",
Ilham Aliyev said.
