Azernews.Az

A draft resolution on Azerbaijanis that went missing as a result of the armed conflict with Armenia over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh was passed at the United Nations on Friday.
The document, adopted on Baku's initiative at a session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, envisions determining the fate of these persons and mustering international support for the solution of their problems.
38 countries including Armenia voted unanimously for the resolution. Baku says over 4,000 Azerbaijani citizens are currently kept in Armenia and the occupied territories, while Yerevan dismisses the statements, claiming that on the contrary, Armenian nationals had gone missing in Azerbaijan.
The head of the Azerbaijani UN representation in Geneva, Elchin Amirbayov, said in his address that the goal of passing the resolution was to bring the problems faced by missing persons to the attention of international groups through the HRC.
The resolution called upon the conflicting sides "to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict and account for persons reported missing as a result of such a situation".
It also decided to hold a panel discussion on missing persons at the UN this September and to invite experts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, delegates of governments and non-governmental organizations as well as national human rights institutions and international organizations to participate.
The document also requested the secretary-general to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the resolution, including relevant recommendations, to the Council at its eighth session.
Azerbaijan forwarded a similar resolution to the UN General Assembly in 2006 and achieved passage of the document.
The HRC comprises 47 countries.