The issue of missing persons should be humanitarian and not politicized.
elchi reports that this was stated by Mohammad Al-Obaydi, representative of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, at a panel session during the IV International Conference within the Baku Dialogue on Missing Persons.
He noted that the families of missing persons suffer from the consequences of prolonged uncertainty and lack of information: “As the United Nations has also pointed out, missing persons are not the only victims. At the heart of this issue lies the families’ right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, and, where necessary, the circumstances under which they disappeared.
This principle is of particular importance in the context of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The military operations that took place in 2020 and their consequences once again highlight the importance of making continuous efforts to determine the whereabouts and fate of all persons whose fate is unknown.
As time passes, the humanitarian needs of families do not disappear. Therefore, it is important to make continuous efforts, collect and preserve information, and support identification processes”.
He added that efforts to clarify the fate of missing persons should not depend on the political resolution of the conflict: “Some families affected by the conflict in this region have been waiting for over 30 years. They should not be forced to live with another generation of this expectation.”