According to international sources, almost 5,000 persons have gone missing since the start of the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war. On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan conducted a military offensive that brought to an end more than three decades of de facto self-governance for the Armenian population living in Nagorno-Karabakh and resulted in a massive exodus of its population.

ICMP representatives visited Armenia in March 2022 and Azerbaijan in April 2022 at the invitation of the respective governments to discuss effective measures to locate persons missing as a result of the armed conflicts. In June-July 2023, ICMP again visited both countries to conduct an assessment to explore the legislative and institutional framework in place to account for the missing, the scientific and technical capacities of the institutions and mechanisms tasked with addressing the resolution of missing persons cases, and the engagement of civil society and international organizations. As a result of the assessment, ICMP has proposed a series of recommendations to each country, that seek to contribute to a sustainable and effective missing persons process aligned with human rights and rule-of-law standards.

These recommendations promote a strategic response to the identified gaps in different areas, for example in the fields of data management, such as implementing a centralized data processing system, refining procedures for locating, recovering, excavating, and examining human remains, documenting evidence and bolstering DNA testing capabilities. Additionally, the reports highlight the importance of promoting the participation of families of the missing and civil society in the definition of public policy, as a key element to promote respect for their rights.

Among other recommendations, the reports propose instituting an independent DNA comparison mechanism as a collaboration between Armenia and Azerbaijan to enhance the transparency, legitimacy and acceptance of DNA testing results.