Baku. TurkicWorld:
Foreign NGOs have appealed to the international community in connection with the missing Azerbaijanis, TurkicWorld reports.
The appeal ramps up efforts to search for Azerbaijanis missing as a result of Armenia's military aggression.
"We, the undersigned civil society organizations, appeal to the international community with this statement as a wake-up call for the thousands of Azerbaijanis who went missing as a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan. The situation highlights the tragic human toll and the urgent need for international efforts to address the issue of missing persons and provide assistance to their families," said the appeal.
Due to Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan for around 30 years, a total of 3,890 Azerbaijanis were officially registered as missing during the first Karabakh war. Among them, 3,171 were military personnel, and 719 were civilians. Regrettably, among the civilians, 71 were children, 267 were women, and 326 were elderly. Among the overall number of missing persons, 872 people, including 29 children, 98 women, and 112 elderly people, were either taken hostage or unable to leave the area due to being elderly and unwell. Heartbreakingly, in some instances, entire families and generations vanished, disappearing alongside their relatives.
Furthermore, during the Second Karabakh War, six Azerbaijani individuals became unaccounted for, and to this day, there exists no information whatsoever regarding their whereabouts or fate.
International humanitarian law (IHL) addresses the issue of missing persons during armed conflicts, and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 set out specific requirements and protections for such situations. According to international humanitarian law requirements, parties to a conflict are obligated to search for and account for missing persons. This includes both combatants who have fallen out of contact during the conflict and civilians who may have been separated from their families. Parties are required to collect and provide information about the missing information and to facilitate communication between detainees and their families. They must also facilitate the identification of deceased individuals and provide information to their families. Families of missing persons have the right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.
