The matters concerning the missing persons and the captives are not solely those of the Red Cross; this is also our job, and we have the right, as PACE lawmakers, to deal with these matters within the Council of Europe (CoE) territory.

Non-pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party National Assembly (NA) Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan, who is also member of the NA delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), stated the aforesaid at the Paris session of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. 

“I don’t want to doubt the Red Cross activities in dealing with the matters of captives and prisoners of war. But the Red Cross may come across the demeanor of the authorities of a country like Azerbaijan.

“Seventy-seven-year-old Mamikon Khojoyan, who had become lost and fallen captive in Azerbaijan, was returned to Armenia by the efforts of the Red Cross. [But] I can’t even describe the physical and psychological torture the Armenian elderly was subjected to in Azerbaijan, and, now, the physicians are fighting for Khojoyan’s life.

“Armenian soldier Hakob Injighulyan and [Armenian] civilians are held captive in Azerbaijan, and they all need to be saved as soon as possible; and our Assembly  is obligated to deal with this issue.

“Azerbaijan is a CoE member state, and we have all the levers to demand from that country to respect the international conventions it has signed.

“Let us expand the mandate of the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights so that he would be directly empowered to deal—in conjunction with the Red Cross—with the matters of the prisoners of war, and the civilians who are held captive.
“I also propose to arrange a joint meeting with the Red Cross, to discuss the situation on this matter in the CoE member states.

“We shall not alienate our burden of work and accountability,” Naira Zohrabyan specifically stated.