Azerbaijan: Activity highlights for the first half of 2024

A major portion of our work involved supporting national authorities to clarify what happened to the people who went missing in connection with the conflict, increasing awareness on the dangers of mines and other unexploded ordnance, and providing psychosocial support to the conflict-affected people as well as those who were repatriated from the Middle East.

In line with our mandate, we continued working alongside the national authorities to provide answers to families of people missing in connection with the conflict. There were 20 officials, representing organizations involved in the exhumation and identification of human remains, who benefitted from training sessions organized with support from the ICRC. We also donated various items to these organizations to support their work. Around 357 home visits were carried out by accompaniers during the funerals of missing people whose remains had been identified and handed over to their families. These accompaniers are selected from the families of missing people and specifically trained by the ICRC to provide support to families grieving the loss of their loved ones.

We also carried out activities to improve the livelihood of people residing in conflict-affected communities of Azerbaijan. Close to 3,000 people benefitted from various projects, such as beekeeping, poultry, smart gardening, and micro-economic initiatives. More than 700 people, including mine survivors, family members of mine incident victims and children repatriated from the Middle East received cash assistance to cover their needs.

We helped build capacity of Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society (AzRCS) volunteers on various topics. The volunteers, in turn, spread knowledge about the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement through sessions conducted in conflict-affected communities, reaching more than 2,000 people. Through our strong collaboration with the national society, we also organized awareness sessions on mines and unexploded ordnances for about 10,000 community members and encouraged them to adopt safer practices.

As the guardian of international humanitarian law (IHL), we organized seminars and training sessions promoting IHL, in which, cadets and officers of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, representatives of governmental entities, students, and instructors participated.

By the end of June 2024, the Azerbaijani authorities’ capacity to support the humanitarian needs of population had grown. Hence, we concluded our ongoing activities in Barda and closed the office. Our office in Baku continues to focus on tracing people missing in relation to the conflict, raising awareness about weapon contamination, promoting IHL, conducting detention-related activities and supporting the AzRCS.