Despite more than 30 years having passed since the First Karabakh War, 4,009 Azerbaijani citizens are still registered as missing persons.
“Elchi” reports that Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, wrote about this on his social media account.
According to him, the issue of missing persons remains one of the most painful humanitarian problems resulting from the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
“Despite more than thirty years having passed since the First Karabakh War, 4,009 Azerbaijani citizens remain registered as missing. Thousands of families continue to live in uncertainty, deprived of their fundamental right to receive information about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.
As a result of ongoing search, exhumation, and identification efforts, the remains of 889 individuals have been exhumed, 313 missing persons have been identified through DNA and forensic medical examination, and the remains of 226 people have been handed over to their families for a dignified burial.”
Hikmet Hajiyev noted that the discovery of 32 mass graves in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan is not only further proof of the scale of the humanitarian tragedy but also emphasizes the importance of continuing cooperation to clarify the fate of the missing.
“Solving the issue of missing persons is not just a humanitarian obligation. It is a matter of justice, human dignity, reconciliation, and lasting peace. Each identified person brings a family closer to answers. Each recovered remain helps restore the truth and preserve memory.”