No peace without settling humanitarian issues: Relatives of missing  Armenians protest outside government building

ArmInfo. Relatives of  Armenians, who went missing in the 44-day war of 2020, as well as  those affected by the explosion at a fuel depot in Stepanakert, held  a protest outside the Armenian government building. The protest was  organized by the Pan-Armenian Front movement.

Movement coordinator Ruzanna Stepanyan, speaking to journalists,  emphasized that the issue of missing persons is a priority due to its  humanitarian nature. "It's impossible to talk about peace and  statehood today while this issue remains unresolved. The Armenian  authorities have visited Baku repeatedly, but have failed to secure  the release of prisoners or provide information about the missing  persons. This lack of progress suggests  that Armenian authorities  aren't raising these issues because it's not in their interests to do  so," the movement's coordinator asserts.

Stepanyan recalled that over the course of two years, the movement  had sent hundreds of letters to international organizations, and the  Armenian government had allocated a significant amount to resolve the  issue of missing persons. However, she expressed her conviction that  these funds were not used for their intended purpose, as no actions  were taken by the authorities during that entire period.

In this regard, Armenia's first Human Rights Ombudsperson, Larisa  Alaverdyan, stated that the country's authorities are not only  failing address that humanitarian issue, but are actively obstructing  it. Alaverdyan recalled that approximately 22 people are still  missing as a result of the explosion at a fuel depot in Stepanakert.  She pointed out that the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances  (CED) deals with missing persons issues and expressed outrage at the  fact that the Armenian authorities have not appealed to this  organization.

"It turns out that our authorities are not even trying to appeal to  international structures that could assist in this matter," she  added.

Alaverdyan also recalled that relatives of missing persons have the  right to be informed about the progress of the case. However, the  relevant structures are practically non-existent. The Armenian  Ombudsperson also commented on Linda Euljekjian's appeal  to the wife  of the President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, for clemency,  calling it a sign of despair due to the inaction of the Armenian  side. After the protest at the government office, the participants  headed to the UN office in Yerevan, where they handed over a letter  to the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, Francoise Jacob. The  letter demanded information on steps already taken,  reasons for  their ineffectiveness, and an answer to  why political gain is  prioritized over humanitarian concerns.