Missing persons: not enough is being done
To mark the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August, the ICRC is calling on the international community to renew its commitment to address the plight of missing persons and their families. In addition, the ICRC is releasing a report entitled Missing Persons – A Hidden Tragedy that highlights the predicament of those unaccounted for in connection with conflict or armed violence, and of their families.
Back to Top
Solving the issue of missing persons is a humanitarian and human rights issue
“Solving the issue of missing persons is a humanitarian and human rights issue,” said President of the PACE, René van der Linden, “but all too often the issue is held hostage to political conflicts,” he added on the eve of the International Day of the Disappeared, Aug. 30th.
“The unresolved issue of missing persons continues to wreck the lives of too many families caught up in the aftermath of recent European conflicts dating back to Cyprus in the 1970s, the Balkans in the 1990s and the conflicts in the Northern Caucasus and the Southern Caucasus, including in the regions of the Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Mr. van der Linden stressed.
“The International Day of the Disappeared reminds us of the support that families of the missing need in their quest for knowledge of the fate of their loved ones,” added Mr van der Linden. “
Back to Top
CoE RAPPORTEUR SAYS MENTALLY ILL MUST BE FREED FROM CAPTIVITY
16:11 15/08/2007
Those Azerbaijanis who have mental illnesses must be freed from captivity, Council of Europe Rapporteur on Missing People in the South Caucasus Leo Platvoet told Trend in an interview. In his words, people with mental disabilities must live in special places and not in captivity.
According to Trend, the Armenian party keeps two mentally ill persons in captivity, Anar Aliev and Ashraf Jafarov.
“If Armenia and Azerbaijan are going to join the European structures and NATO, they must stop taking soldiers in captivity,” CoE official said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has made no comment on CoE official's statement so far.
Source: Panorama.am
Back to Top
The representatives of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) handed in Anar Aliyev's second letter to his family, the captive's father Maarif Aliyev told the APA's Karabakh bureau.
13 Aug 2007 19:26
http://www.day.az/view.php?id=88749
Anar Aliyev was captured by Armenian Armed Forces on August 2 in Tartar region.
The letter says, “I am fine, do not worry about me. ICRC representatives visit me very often. I hope that they will release me.” His father made sure that the signature belongs to his son.
M.Aliyev wrote his son back. He advised him to have a little patience and let him know that Azeri government cares about him./APA/
Back to Top
UNITED NATIONS Press release
26 June 2006
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances is holding the second of three annual sessions from 25 to 29 June 2007 at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
During its 82nd session, the Working Group plans to review 227 cases of enforced disappearances as well as recently submitted information on previously accepted cases from 29 countries.
An annual examination on country practices affecting enforced disappearances (general allegations) submitted by non-governmental organizations regarding countries in Asia , Europe , and North America will also be reviewed.
Meetings will be held with non-governmental organizations and with Government delegations to exchange views on individual cases under consideration and on the phenomenon of enforced disappearances.
The Working Group was created by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1980 to assist families in determining the fate and whereabouts of disappeared relatives. The Working Group endeavours to establish a channel of communication between the families and the Governments concerned, to ensure that individual cases are investigated with the objective of clarifying the whereabouts of persons who, having disappeared, are placed outside the protection of the law. In view of the Working Group's humanitarian mandate, clarification occurs when the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person is clearly established. The Working Group continues to address cases of disappearances until they are resolved.
The Working Group is made up of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chairman-Rapporteur is Santiago Corcuera, and the other Expert-Members are J. Bayo Adekanye, Darko Gottlicher, Saied Rajaie Khorasani and Stephen J. Toope.
For more information on the Working Group, please refer to the web site: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/disappear/index.htm
HREA - www.hrea.org
Back to Top
<BACK
