BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 7.
Determining the fate of the missing persons is a crucial condition
for lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Chairman of the
Azerbaijani State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and
Missing Persons, Ali Naghiyev, said at the 4th international
conference on the theme "Strengthening trust and developing
effective mechanisms to resolve the issue of missing persons,"
being held in Baku within the framework of the Baku Dialogue on
Missing Persons, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
“Determining the fate of the missing is our humanitarian
responsibility, our moral obligation to their families, and a
crucial condition for lasting peace,” he noted.
The official pointed out that the goal of the Baku Dialogue, now
held for the fourth time, is to bring together the expertise of
states, international organizations, and specialists, and to
develop cooperation mechanisms that accelerate search efforts and
help families find answers.
"Azerbaijan is one of the countries suffering from the issue of
missing persons. In the past, Armenia's unfounded claims and policy
of occupation resulted in grave humanitarian consequences for our
people. Although the war has ended, the period of waiting continues
for families who remain unaware of their loved ones' fates.
The state commission has registered 4,010 persons who went
missing as a result of military aggression. Of these, 4,004 went
missing during the First Karabakh War, and six during the 44-day
Patriotic War of 2020. Among the missing, 3,228 were military
personnel and 782 were civilians. The civilians include 71
children, 288 women, and 319 elderly individuals. These figures
illustrate the scale of the tragedy," he said.
Naghiyev added that the State Commission, in collaboration with
relevant agencies, has expanded efforts regarding the
identification of burial sites, excavation and exhumation, and the
identification of remains.
"Biological samples have been collected and cataloged from a
total of 11,566 donors who are close relatives of the missing
persons. This data serves as a crucial foundation for
scientifically based identification. As of October 1, 2026, human
remains believed to belong to 913 missing persons have been
discovered and recovered, and remains presumed to belong to 253
individuals have been exhumed from 32 mass graves found in the
liberated territories," he emphasized.
The 4th international conference on the theme "Strengthening
trust and developing effective mechanisms to resolve the issue of
missing persons", organized by the State Commission on Prisoners of
War, Hostages and Missing Persons, is being held in Gulustan Palace
within the framework of the Baku Dialogue on Missing Persons.
The event is attended by former heads of state and government,
high-ranking representatives of international organizations and
foreign countries, heads of agencies dealing with missing persons,
experts, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and
human rights specialists, as well as ambassadors and military
attachés of foreign countries accredited in Azerbaijan and other
officials.
One of the main directions of this year's discussions is the
formation and strengthening of trust between the parties.
The purpose of the conference is not to be satisfied with
discussions, but to contribute to the formation of practical and
sustainable mechanisms that strengthen trust and cooperation, serve
to ensure families' right to know the truth, facilitate information
exchange, and expand the application of modern forensic, DNA and
technological capabilities.
