12:10

An international event on missing persons has been organized

An international conference on “Increasing national and global efforts to clarify the fate of missing persons” organized by the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages of the Republic of Azerbaijan was held on September 18th with the participation of former heads of states and governments of foreign countries, representatives of international organizations, including humanitarian institutions and international political experts.

At the event, the guests first watched a theme video, and then the address of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev was read to the conference participants.

Chief of the State Security Service, Chairman of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Missing Persons and Hostages, Mr. Ali Naghiyev greeted the participants of the international conference and highlighted the nature of the event, drawing attention to the importance of the topic for Azerbaijan. Stating that the head of our state always treats the issue of hostages and missing persons with special sensitivity, the Chairman of the Commission gave detailed information about the work done in recent years to clarify the fate of 3890 citizens who went missing in the First Karabakh War, and stated that starting from February 2021 an intensive work has been done in order to identify the remains discovered in the grave sites, which are believed to belong to the missing persons. Highlighting extensively the identification capabilities of the genetic laboratory within the Military-medical head department of the State Security Service established at the expense of the funds allocated by the relevant order of President Ilham Aliyev and equipped with the most modern equipment, the Chairman expressed his deep gratitude to the head of the country for his continuous support and attention to the activity of the Commission and clarification of the fate of missing persons.

It was emphasized that in addition to the 15 people who were identified and announced to the public in the last few days, the remains of 10 citizens, including 1 civilian and 9 soldiers, were identified on the eve of the conference with the efforts of the State Commission and the immediate measures taken. Identification of one of them the “National Hero of Azerbaijan” Riad Ahmadov, who was once an employee of the security agencies, showed great bravery and courage in the First Karabakh War and was injured and went missing in the battle in the village of Dashalti with the intelligence group he led on January 26 was especially emphasized by the Head of the Service Mr. Ali Naghiyev as being a serious public event.

The chairman of the State Commission also said that the process of searching for our missing citizens, whose fate is uncertain, can be carried out faster if Armenia gives up its non-constructive and anti-humanist steps and presents accurate mine maps and information about grave sites. Mr. Ali Naghiyev called official Yerevan to cooperate in this matter and stated that Armenia's assistance in the implementation of this humanitarian mission would lead to the quick identification of missing persons from both sides and the elimination of the humanitarian crisis that has been going on for a long time.

The chairman of the Commission expressed his opinion on the impossibility of coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians expressed by some Armenian ideologues, noted that unlike monoethnic Armenia, Armenians live in peace and prosperity along with representatives of all nations in multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Azerbaijan, and invited the Armenian population of our country to form an environment of coexistence with Azerbaijanis.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Ali Naghiyev expressed his hope that the international conference will make an important contribution to the issue of determining the fate of missing persons, expressed his belief that their fate will soon be clarified, that the State Commission's joint activity with international humanitarian organizations in this matter will be more result-oriented, and that the tasks set for the purpose of finding the missing will be carried out at the appropriate level by mobilizing all possible opportunities.

Then the conference continued with panel discussions and speeches on the topics of the achievements in the mentioned field and the problems awaiting resolution, the current international framework regarding missing persons and the means of strengthening mutual relations between the states that are parties to armed conflict, the application of modern technologies in determining the location of the remains of the missing persons, the exchange of experience, cooperation governments between the missing persons' families' individuals.