Families of Azerbaijanis who went missing during Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory have staged a protest outside the European Parliament in Brussels, calling for information about the fate of their relatives and urging Armenia to disclose records relating to missing people and mass graves. The protest was held on 20 October in Place du Luxembourg and organised by the public association Families of Missing Persons in Karabakh, according to Azerbaijan’s State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organisations, as reported by Azertag. A statement read at the protest highlighted the suffering of families who have spent more than three decades without news of their loved ones.
It said that 4,010 Azerbaijanis had gone missing during Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory, including 71 children, 288 women and 319 elderly people. Forensic genetic examinations had established the identities of 328 missing people, and the remains of 273 had been returned to their families. But there are still families waiting.
They want to know the truth,” it said. The families called on Armenia to disclose available information and archives, provide details about mass grave sites and clarify the fate of those who remain missing. They also appealed to the European Parliament, accusing it of consistently defending Armenia while failing to raise the issue of missing Azerbaijanis.
The statement described this approach as an example of “anachronism and atavism in international relations”. If human rights are universal, then the right to know the truth is also universal,” the statement said. It recalled the case of Elmira Dadasheva, the mother of a missing man who travelled to Geneva last year to appeal to the international community for information about her son.
She died shortly after the event without having received any information about his fate. The protest also featured an installation displaying photographs, clothing and envelopes containing letters written on behalf of missing Azerbaijanis. The messages included: “I’m not just a number.
I have a name, I have a family,” and “I’m still someone’s child. How much longer must my family wait?” The installation sought to give a voice to Azerbaijanis who have been missing for more than 30 years and draw international attention to the uncertainty faced by their families. Visitors left messages of support, tied commemorative ribbons and laid flowers in a show of solidarity with the families.
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