Baku: As a consequence of Armenia's military actions against Azerbaijan during the First Karabakh War, there are still 4,010 individuals registered as missing. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is actively engaged in efforts to encourage Armenia to provide Azerbaijan with precise coordinates of mass graves from the conflict.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the ICMP's primary objective is to facilitate cooperation between governments, aiming to strengthen both technical and legal capacities and promote dialogue among state institutions and between countries that have previously experienced conflict. The commission believes that current peace efforts between the two governments are promising, underscored by the initialing of a peace agreement, notably Article 9, which emphasizes cooperation in locating missing persons.
The ICMP has donated a database to the Azerbaijani government to enhance cooperation and information sharing about potential mass graves. The commission points to the former Yugoslavia as a successful example, where a joint working group on missing persons established a database system for information exchange.
The ICMP is also providing Azerbaijan with technical, laboratory, and expert support, particularly in DNA analysis, to aid in the exhumation work in liberated territories. This expertise is crucial for processing severely degraded bone remains, a challenging task given the passage of time since the conflict. The commission's efforts include training scientists from Azerbaijan and Armenia in their Netherlands laboratories to enhance identification capabilities.
Additionally, the ICMP has developed an Information Management System for missing persons, which will significantly benefit Azerbaijan. This system incorporates various modules to track the entire search and identification process, from exhumation to DNA analysis, and allows family members to submit information and monitor the progress of their cases online. This modern approach aims to replace paper-based procedures, increasing transparency and efficiency in locating and identifying missing persons.
The commission's comprehensive support aims not only to ensure the rights of families to know the truth about their missing loved ones but also to foster successful cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, contributing to lasting peace in the region.