Families of Missing Azerbaijanis Meet EU Officials in Brussels, Urge Clarification of Their Fate

Baku, The Gulf Observer: The European External Action Service (EEAS) hosted a meeting with members of the “Garabagh Missing Families” Public Union in Brussels on October 21, where families of missing Azerbaijani citizens called for answers regarding the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.

During the meeting, the families met with Okke Bouwman, Political Adviser to the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, and Marco Cardinali, Coordinator for Relations with Azerbaijan.

The families expressed concern that Armenia had not provided any information about their missing relatives, including during the post-conflict period.

Konul Behbudova, Chair of the “Garabagh Missing Families” Public Union, said that Azerbaijani families of missing persons had staged a protest on October 20 at Place du Luxembourg in Brussels, outside the European Parliament, and adopted a statement calling for clarification of the fate of their loved ones.

Behbudova stressed that Armenia bears responsibility for clarifying the fate of missing Azerbaijanis and should provide Azerbaijan with information about the locations of mass graves.

She noted that the discovery of 32 mass graves in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories to date represented only a small part of what she described as a much larger humanitarian tragedy.

The meeting also highlighted a further demonstration held by families of missing Azerbaijanis at Schuman Square in central Brussels on October 21, following the previous day’s protest.

The families’ engagement with EU officials underscored their continued efforts to draw international attention to the unresolved issue of missing persons and to seek information about the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.