A resolution on Missing Persons initiated by the Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted by consensus at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly, press service of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has told AZERTAC. Sixty-two countries joined the resolution as co-authors, the ministry said.

Guided by principles and norms of international humanitarian law adopted by consensus, the resolution drew attention to the issue of missing persons as part of peace and peacebuilding processes.

The resolution expresses deep concern over the growing number of armed conflicts in various parts of the world which result in growing number of missing persons. It notes that the problem of missing persons causes deep suffering to their families, and continues to have a negative impact on efforts to put an end to the conflicts.

The resolution urges the countries to respect and follow the rules of international humanitarian law, to prevent persons from going missing, to take all appropriate measures to search for missing persons, as well as to cooperate, in order to determine fate of persons reported missing, in accordance with international commitments. The resolution also ratifies the right of families of missing persons to get all relevant information about the fate of their loved ones, calling on the states to pay particular attention to cases of children reported missing in armed conflicts.

The resolution also includes a request to the UN Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report with practical recommendations to the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (2020) and the relevant session of the UN Human Rights Council on the implementation of the present resolution.