Religious figures can play an important role in efforts to find missing persons, said former UK Member of Parliament and former Minister at the UK Foreign Office Rehman Chishti at a panel session held as part of the 4th International Conference on Missing Persons within the Baku Dialogue, Report informs.
He praised the Azerbaijani government's efforts to keep the issue of missing persons on the international agenda and to demonstrate leadership in this area globally.
"From my experience during a visit to Karabakh last year, I know that 1.5 million mines have been laid in the area. The Azerbaijani government's efforts with partners from different countries to address the mine issue face a major challenge. This, in turn, also affects the ability to identify missing persons," Chishti said.
According to Chishti, the world is in a more dangerous situation than ever before in recent decades.
"According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, there are 130 armed conflicts worldwide, while 60 countries are affected by wars," he said.
He believes religious figures can play an important role in the search for missing persons.
"According to research, 75-76% of the approximately 8.3 billion people on Earth consider themselves members of one religion or another. Therefore, religious leaders around the world can play an important role in bringing people together for the common good," Chishti said.