Azerbaijan takes all necessary steps to determine the fate of missing persons

The government of Azerbaijan takes all necessary steps to determine the fate of missing persons, said President Ilham Aliyev in his address to the participants of an international conference on "Addressing the Issue of Missing Persons: Upholding Families' Right to Know the Truth", Olaylar reports.

"Since 1993, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages has been fulfilling this humanitarian mission. After the Patriotic War, the activities of the Commission were further expanded, achieving good results. The 155 persons missing in the First Karabakh War were identified and they were buried with military honors.

Until now, our governmental institutions, relatives of missing persons and representatives of civil society have repeatedly appealed to various international organizations, but unfortunately, we are faced with double standards in this issue as well. Relevant international institutions should not remain silent in response to these appeals and must take decisive action.

As a responsible member of the international community, Azerbaijan views the issue of missing persons during armed conflicts not only as its own problem, but also as a global one faced by several countries around the world. The fact that a resolution on missing persons is put forward in the UN General Assembly at the initiative of our country every two years and adopted by consensus is an integral part of our efforts to raise international awareness on this issue.

Therefore, we are of the opinion that there is a need to create a special mechanism for missing persons within the framework of the UN in order to ensure that the issue receives the necessary international attention," said President Ilham Aliyev.