Azerbaijani families of missing persons received at EU headquarters in Brussels for first time

For the first time, representatives of Azerbaijani families of missing persons have been received at the European Union’s European External Action Service (EEAS).

On 21 October 2026, members of the Karabakh Families of Missing Persons Public Union met in Brussels with Okke Bouwman, Political Adviser to the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, and Marco Cardinali, the EU’s coordinator for relations with Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, which lasted approximately one hour, the Azerbaijani families said Armenia had provided no information about the fate of their missing relatives, even in the post-conflict period.

Könül Behbudova, chairwoman of the Karabakh Families of Missing Persons Public Union, recalled that on 20 October Azerbaijani families had held a protest outside the European Parliament, at Place du Luxembourg in Brussels, and adopted a statement.

She stressed that Armenia bears direct responsibility for clarifying the fate of missing Azerbaijanis and is obliged to share information with Azerbaijan about the locations of mass graves.

Behbudova described the discovery of 32 mass graves to date in Azerbaijani territories liberated from occupation as only a small part of a much larger humanitarian tragedy.

The meeting also noted that Azerbaijani families of missing persons had held another protest in Brussels earlier that day, at Schuman Square in the city centre.

The Karabakh Families of Missing Persons Public Union said its members would not remain silent until they received information about their missing relatives and pledged to continue their protests.