ICRC holds exhibition "The Silent Presence. Stories of Waiting and  Yearning" 

ArmInfo. The exhibition "The Silent Presence. Stories of Waiting and Yearning" has been held at  the Vanadzor Palace of Culture named after Charles Aznavour.

The exhibition demonstrates the expectations and experiences of the  families of servicemen who went missing during the hostilities in the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone between 2020 and 2023. 

The event was organized by the International Committee of the Red  Cross (ICRC). The exhibition featured 14 works with stories of  expectations of 14 families who are looking for their loved ones. The  author of the photographs is Erik Grigoryan. The exhibition aims to  convey the deep, emotional moments that the families of missing  people experience in connection with the escalation of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020-2023, the painful uncertainty about  the fate of their missing relative. The event also aims to raise  public awareness and understanding of the issue of missing persons.  This is the second time the event is being held in this format. The  endless expectations and feelings of families were first presented to  the public in August 2023 in the city of Armavir through the  photographs of photographer Areg Balayan.

ICRC Deputy Coordinator for Protection Valery Yarmak, opening the  exhibition, noted that the International Day of the Disappeared  reminds everyone of the pain of loss and absence. "August 30 reminds  us that even when the guns fall silent, the pain and suffering do not  stop for those who know nothing about the fate of their loved ones  and live in ignorance. Families of missing persons have a vital need  to know about the fate of their loved ones. Families have the right  to know and to be informed, this is one of the key pillars of human  dignity. The right to be informed is also enshrined in international  humanitarian law. The parties to this conflict are obliged to clarify  the fate of the missing and provide an answer to their families,"  Yarmak said. At the same time, he noted that clarifying the fate of  the missing is a complex, sensitive and often lengthy process, but  the difficulties of the search are incomparable with the pain  experienced by the relatives of the missing.

At the same time, he noted that clarifying the fate of missing  persons is a complex, sensitive and often lengthy process, but the  difficulties of the search are incomparable with the pain experienced  by the relatives of the missing.

In turn, the head of the humanitarian affairs department of the  Armenian Foreign Ministry, Hayk Sargsyan, regretfully noted that the  problem of missing persons also affected Armenian society.

"As a result of Azerbaijan's aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in  2020 and 2023, new cases of missing persons and enforced  disappearances of the 90s of the last century have been added.  Moreover, even with the presence of documented and video evidence,  the Azerbaijani authorities are inactive in clarifying the fate of  Armenian servicemen," the Armenian diplomat noted.

At the same time, he stressed that Armenia is taking all possible  steps to present the problem in international structures and judicial  bodies, including taking into account the fact that enforced  disappearances in certain circumstances may be considered a crime  against humanity under international law. Sarkissian recalled that,  emphasizing the importance of combating enforced disappearances,  including the prevention of such crimes and the fight against  impunity, Armenia signed and ratified the International Convention  for the Protection of All Persons Subjected to Enforced  Disappearance.

"At the same time, today we cannot only remember and mourn. We must  be a voice demanding and calling for responsibility, demanding truth  and justice. Together with our international partners, we continue to  take steps to clarify the fate of the missing. The Armenian side has  never politicized humanitarian cooperation, has always been open to  working with all parties involved, attaching importance to such  cooperation as a means of achieving trust and peace. I would like to  assure you that the work will not stop until the fate of all missing  persons is clarified, until all families receive an answer to their  most pressing question," the official from the Armenian Foreign  Ministry noted.

In turn, the head of the public relations department of the ICRC  office in Armenia, Zara Amatuni, said that today about 1,000 people  are considered missing on the Armenian side, and about 300 people  began to be considered as such after the latest escalation in the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. 

"All the data that the ICRC publishes on missing persons is the  number that our Organization has collected based on the requests of  the families of missing persons themselves. And if since the 90s of  the last century we have about 700 families registered with us, then  about 300 people are being sought by families as a result of  exacerbations in the period from 2020 to 2023. All the data has been  collected by us and we can say with confidence that it is reliable,"  Amatuni explained. She also acknowledged that among these 300 people  there are several dozen requests concerning cases when the family did  not agree with the DNA data presented by the state. "In such cases,  the key thing for us is what is the real, objective reason why the  families do not accept the identification results. In such cases, we  interact with both the families and the relevant responsible state  structures," the ICRC representative noted. 

Touching on the possibility of organizing search operations, Amatuni  noted that this is the prerogative of the parties to the conflict,  and the ICRC cannot interfere in it, but can only provide advisory  assistance upon request from the parties.