TURKPA attended international conference on addressing the problem of missing persons

On 2 October 2024, Deputy Secretary General Saky Sadykov took part in the international conference on "Addressing the problem of missing persons: upholding the right to know for the families" organized under the aegis of the Azerbaijan State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and the Representative Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Representatives and experts from international organizations, foreign institutions functioning in the relevant field, as well as family members of missing persons participated in the event. At the opening session, an address by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the conference participants was read out. In his address, Head of State noted that Azerbaijan as a responsible member of the international community viewed the issue of missing persons during armed conflicts not only as its own problem, but also as a global one faced by several countries around the world. He also added that there was a need to create a special mechanism for missing persons within the framework of the UN in order to ensure that the issue received the necessary international attention. The event continued with a screening of the short film on the problem of missing persons in the world. The opening session was followed by four panel sessions on the topics of “The problem of missing persons in trust, reconciliation and peace building processes”, “Protecting families' right to know and meeting their needs”, “Experiences of families of missing persons: identifying and responding to their needs and challenges, areas of collaboration and partnership” and “Progress and challenges in the search, recovery and forensic identification of remains of missing persons”. On 3 October, the second day of the Conference included a visit to Aghdara region to observe the exhumation process of remains discovered in the village of Syrkhavand, as well as a visit to the city of Shusha.