Armenian human rights activist: The fate of 1,300 Armenians who went  missing during the Karabakh conflict remains unclear

ArmInfo.  The fate of 1,300 Armenians who went missing during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the late 1980s to 2023 remains unclear, as stated by Anna  Melikyan, human rights expert and representative of the  "Protection  of Rights Without Borders" NGO during  a press conference in Yerevan.

The human rights activist emphasized that the issue of missing  persons and their families is not just a humanitarian or statistical  matter, but a human rights issue. This right, she stated, obliges  states to take all necessary steps to clarify the fate and  whereabouts of a missing person until definitive and accurate  information about their fate is obtained.

Melikyan lamented the lack of state policy and a unified approach  even when it comes to updating lists of missing persons.  She also  recalled that, according to human rights organizations, search  efforts have been significantly limited by Azerbaijan. "This is one  of the reasons why certain issues remain unclear to this day,  especially in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan following the  forced displacement of the Artsakh population in 2023. Therefore,  Azerbaijan's primary responsibility in this matter is to ensure  access to the occupied territories, preferably with the participation  of international mediators," Melikyan emphasized.

The expert noted that in this context, the fact that Azerbaijan is  conducting large-scale construction work in these territories, which  is not under any control, is also of concern. As Melikyan explained,  if remains are discovered, the Azerbaijani side claims they belong to  victims of the events in Ivanyan, although there are no DNA tests to  confirm this.

The expert also recalled that, according to international standards,  when a person is captured by an enemy, it occurs not at the will of  the individual, but with the permission of the state, which makes it  responsible for the fate of the captive. In Armenia, as Melikyan  noted, criminal cases have been opened on this matter to clarify the  circumstances. "However, there are also difficulties here, since  Armenia does not control this territory, and work on the ground is  necessary to obtain evidence. Therefore, international mediation is  also necessary in this matter. Additionally, it should be taken into  account that this issue cannot be postponed until a peace treaty is  signed with Azerbaijan, as every day works against us: evidence is  lost and the likelihood of clarifying the fate of the missing persons  decreases," the human rights expert concluded. 

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war  and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons remains unknown. According  to the latest data from the International Committee of the Red Cross  (ICRC), as of August 2024, approximately 1,000 people are considered  missing on the Armenian side, with approximately 300 of these  individuals reported missing following the latest escalation in the  Nagorno- Karabakh conflict zone between autumn 2020 and autumn 2023.  All data was collected by the ICRC based on requests from relatives  of the missing. The ICRC also reported that among these 300  individuals, there are several dozen requests concerning cases where  the family disagreed with the DNA data provided by the state.