A report written by the PACE Rapporteur on Missing Persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Leo Platvoet, following his visit to these countries in 2006, observed that compared to the early 1990s, little improvement has been made in the three South Caucasus countries concerning the issue of missing persons. APA detailed, citing Leo Platvoet’s report, that a total of 7,643 persons have gone missing in the region as a result of violent conflicts. During the Nagorno Karabakh conflict 4,604 Azerbaijanis and 947 Armenians disappeared. 1,763 Georgians and 197 Abkhazians went missing during the Abkhazia conflict and 10 Georgians and 122 Ossetians during the South Ossetian conflict. According to the report, information exists that some of the missing are still alive. In a statement following the report, Platvoet appealed to the three countries to establish close cooperation on the issue of missing persons, added APA.

This information was originally published on February 20, 2007 (www.apa.az)