Azerbaijan to continue international efforts to clarify fate of hostages and missing persons

By Qabil Ashirov 

On 15 November 2024, Resolution A/C.3/79/L.35 on “Missing persons” was adopted by consensus in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee. 56 UN Member States joined the resolution as co-sponsors. Azerbaijan is a main co-sponsor of this resolution which has been reintroduced on a biannual basis since 2002.

The resolution notes that people going missing in connection with armed conflicts inflicts grievous suffering on families and negatively impacts efforts to end conflicts. It also stresses the importance of ending impunity for violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law concerning missing persons.

The resolution calls upon state parties to armed conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from missing, properly investigate their conditions, and determine their fate.

For the first time, this year’s resolution also expresses concern at the impediments caused by landmines to efforts to identify the whereabouts of missing persons and calls upon States to cooperate for the safe search of human remains.

The issue of “Missing persons” is high on the agenda of Azerbaijan. As a result of Armenia’s aggression during the early 1990s up to 4,000 Azerbaijanis, including civilians, children and women have been missing. 6 Azerbaijani citizens went missing during the 2020 Patriotic War.

Since 2023, Azerbaijan also held international conferences to raise more awareness on this issue. The Declaration of the international conference on “Addressing the Problem of Missing Persons: Upholding the Right to Know for the Families,” jointly organized by the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the International Committee of the Red Cross on 2-3 October 2024, in Baku, has been officially issued as the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council documents.

Notwithstanding the technological progress that has significantly increased the efficacy of the search for and identification of missing persons in recent years, the statistics demonstrate a dramatic increase in the number of missing persons worldwide, reaching more than 212,000 persons. In light of these facts, the UN General Assembly resolution on “Missing persons” retains its relevance to the global agenda.

Azerbaijan, as a matter of priority, will further consolidate international efforts to address the issue of missing persons.