Azerbaijan’s State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons hosted Monday a presentation of the "Assessment Report: Accounting for Missing Persons in the Republic of Azerbaijan" of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

Members and staff of the working group of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons of Azerbaijan, high-ranking representatives of the international commission, MPs, senior officials of relevant government agencies, as well as representatives of NGOs and the media attended the event.

Addressing the event, Gazanfar Ahmadov, Secretary of Azerbaijan’s State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Citizens, said that because of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan, 3,983 people were registered as missing. “Of these, 3,977 went missing during the First Karabakh War, and six during the Patriotic War. The persons include 3,209 military servicemen and 774 civilians. Of the 3,983 missing persons, 3,209 were military personnel and 774 were civilians,” he mentioned.

According to him, off the total number of missing persons, 3,698 were men, and 285 were women.

Ahmadov underlined that the remains of 688 presumed missing Azerbaijani citizens were found as of March 1. “As a result of forensic molecular-genetic expertise of the remains, the identities of 165 individuals missing during the First Karabakh War have been established and made public,” he emphasized.

Sharafat Hasanov, Deputy Head of the State Security Service (SSS), Lieutenant General, noted that since 1988, Azerbaijan has been drawn into an armed conflict due to Armenia's unfounded territorial claims and occupation against Azerbaijan that has led to a large-scale humanitarian disaster.

Kathryne Bomberger, Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), underscored that the number of missing persons in the world is on rise, noting that the main reason for this is a growing number of conflicts.

Following the remarks, a presentation of the report prepared by the International Commission on the assessment mission conducted in Azerbaijan in 2023 was held.

In conclusion, the participants expressed profound confidence that cooperation with the International Commission would yield fruitful results in clarifying the fate of missing Azerbaijani citizens.