The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) considers the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia regarding the determination of the fate of missing persons to be important.
elchi reports that this was stated by Kathryne Bomberger, Director General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), during her speech at the international conference on “Modern approaches and strengthening cooperation in solving the issue of missing persons” held in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
She expressed satisfaction with the progress in the peace process between Baku and Yerevan and emphasized that this process is significant for determining the fate of missing persons:
“In the context of Azerbaijan, we are pleased to see ongoing efforts to modernize existing legislation. This is important for all states, because after conflicts and large-scale disappearances, states usually do not have sufficient appropriate legislation to solve this problem.
The report we prepared and the assessment we conducted at the invitation of Azerbaijan show that there is a clear need for progress in this area. From the perspective of cooperation, the second very important direction is the cooperation between the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and the families of the missing persons. I think this is the most important area of cooperation.
As we know, under international law, states are not only obligated to investigate the fate of missing persons and determine their location. They are also obligated to ensure the human rights of the families of missing persons. These families, after armed conflicts, usually consist mainly of women and children.
These rights include the right to know the truth, the right to justice, and the right to receive compensation. Therefore, it is very important that the families of missing persons can ensure their rights and actively participate in the search and identification process.”
She highly appreciated the steps taken by Azerbaijan in the field of peace and noted that the signing of a sustainable peace agreement is very important.