Azerbaijan’s memorandum on missing persons adopted as official UN document

A memorandum and declaration submitted by Azerbaijan addressing the global crisis of missing persons have been formally published as official documents of the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, according to a diplomatic filing released Wednesday.

The documents stem from an international conference held in Baku in October 2025, which focused on strengthening cooperation to determine the fate of individuals missing due to armed conflicts.

Tofig Musayev, Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to the UN, formally presented the Baku Declaration to the UN Secretary-General on Dec. 8.

The declaration expresses "grave concern" over the rising number of missing persons globally and reaffirms the right of families to know the fate of their loved ones. Notably, the document highlights how landmines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) significantly hinder the recovery and identification of remains.

The UN has circulated the filing under agendas including the prevention of armed conflict and the protection of human rights.

 Azerbaijan has long championed the issue of missing persons on the international stage, citing approximately 4,000 of its citizens who remain unaccounted for since the First Karabakh War in the 1990s.

The integration of this memorandum into the UN framework follows a massive demining effort in Azerbaijan's liberated territories, where mass graves are periodically discovered during reconstruction.

N.Tebrizli