Parliament adopts law on missing persons

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s National Assembly has designated the National Security Service (NSS) as the authorized body responsible for issues concerning missing persons. Lawmakers adopted the new law “On Persons Missing in Conditions and Circumstances Created by Military Operations” in the second reading and in full with 88 votes in favor, none against and none abstaining.

Under the new regulations, a missing person in Armenia will be defined as a serviceman or a civilian, including a volunteer, who disappeared in conditions created by military operations, as well as during a ceasefire or the period of peace following military actions, Sputnik Armenia reported.

The law also stipulates that the search for a missing person will be terminated once the person’s location, burial site or the place where the remains are found is established and registered in a newly created registry within three days.

At the same time, if a missing person has been declared dead by a court but the body has not been found, the search will not be terminated.

The National Security Service will coordinate work related to missing persons, including receiving and collecting information, conducting searches and communicating with families.

It was also noted that if a family member suffers from a prolonged illness or dies, the state may provide one-time financial assistance once a year.

If the family of a missing person does not have housing or lives in a fourth-category аварийное building, the state may provide them with an apartment with ownership rights or financial assistance to purchase housing.

Family members of missing persons will also benefit from several tax, educational and social privileges and will receive additional financial support.

The same support will also be provided to the families of people missing after the explosion at the fuel depot near Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to official data, from 1988 to 2005, 437 people from the Armenian side went missing — 224 servicemen and 213 civilians. During the 2020 44-day war, 191 people are considered missing. After the explosion at the fuel depot near Stepanakert following Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, 22 people are considered missing.