Citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenia to be able to confidentially  provide information about missing persons

ArmInfo. Citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenia will be able to confidentially provide information about missing persons and burial sites.

According to APA, Deputy Head of the State Security Service Sharafat  Hasanov made this statement at an international conference entitled  "Modern Approaches to Resolving the Issue of Missing Persons and  Strengthening Cooperation," held as part of the collaboration with  the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

"During the discussions and meetings held, the ICMP delegation  provided detailed information on the organization's capabilities and  achievements in the areas of search, excavation, exhumation, and  identification, its material and technical resources, human  resources, and the new scientific methods it employs. They also  expressed their readiness to present the organization's electronic  database to Azerbaijan and to conduct training for specialists from  relevant government agencies in various areas, including database  management and the preparation of relevant reports and protocols in  accordance with international standards," he said.

According to the Azerbaijani official, the presented IDMS will allow  existing databases related to missing persons to be integrated into a  single platform, ensuring the simultaneous entry and processing of  data by relevant government agencies. This process will enable the  rapid acquisition of information and prompt decision-making. "After  completing all planned processes, the heads of both structures plan  to sign an End User License Agreement regulating the use of the ICMP  software, including IDMS and OIC.

Furthermore, the system will enable citizens of Azerbaijan and  Armenia to confidentially provide information on missing persons,  including burial sites. The information provided will be used  exclusively for humanitarian purposes, and the person providing the  information will not be held liable under any circumstances. The goal  is to facilitate clarification of the fate of missing persons," he  said.

The exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in  Azerbaijani prisons is still 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. Moreover, 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.