Armenia must provide all information related to missing Azerbaijanis, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Fariz Rzayev said at the Fourth International Conference held within the framework of the Baku Dialogue on Missing Persons, APA reports.
He said records concerning captivity, transfers and deaths, witness statements, and information about individual or mass burial sites are of great importance for determining the fate of missing persons.
“Even incomplete information can be significant when examined together with other evidence,” Fariz Rzayev noted.
The deputy minister called on Armenia to provide all information that could clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing Azerbaijanis, including information about burial sites.
He said that, within the framework of cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons, Azerbaijan’s State Commission is working on the initial implementation of the Integrated Data Management System and its complementary Online Inquiry Center.
According to Fariz Rzayev, the system will enable the consolidation of existing information into a single database, allow authorized institutions to manage and compare data, and permit the confidential submission of information on missing persons and burial sites.
He noted that the effectiveness of the system will depend on the quality of the information entered into it and the willingness of all relevant parties to share the information they possess.
The deputy minister said Article 9 of the Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia is dedicated to the issue of persons who went missing or were forcibly disappeared during the conflict.
According to him, the document initialed in Washington provides for these issues to be addressed through the exchange of all available information directly or, where necessary, in cooperation with relevant international organizations.
“This provision creates a concrete basis for humanitarian cooperation. Regular contacts between the relevant state institutions and their Armenian counterparts should help turn information into searches, identifications and answers for families,” Fariz Rzayev emphasized.
He added that progress on issues related to missing persons could also strengthen confidence in the broader normalization process.
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