Today is the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, one of the bloodiest crimes against our nation.

On the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, with the direct participation of the personnel and equipment of the 366th Motorized Rifle Regiment of Russia in Khankendi, occupied the city of Khojaly located between Khankendi and Askeran and committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people.

As a result of the Khojaly genocide, 613 people, including 63 children, 70 elderly people and 106 women, were brutally tortured to death. During the genocide, 5,379 people were deported, 1,275 people were taken prisoner and tortured (The fate of 150 of them, including 68 women and 26 children, is still unknown), 487 people were injured, 8 families were completely killed, 25 children lost both parents and 130 children lost one parent.

In 2008, on the initiative of Leyla Aliyeva, General Coordinator of the Youth Forum of the Islamic Conference for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF), an international awareness campaign "Justice for Khojaly" was launched.

The campaign aims to raise international awareness about the Khojaly genocide. The activity of the campaign is also aimed at commemorating the victims of the Khojaly genocide, supporting the surviving families, keeping these events alive in the memory, especially not to be forgotten by the younger generation.

The campaign actively uses various means of communication and resources, including media, internet and live events, to operate globally and deliver its message. The campaign focused on strong resistance to massacres, ethnic cleansing and racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, solidarity with the victims of the Khojaly genocide and the fight against impunity for crimes against Azerbaijanis in Khojaly.

The Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan has declared February 26 "Khojaly Genocide Day" every year. Every year on February 26 at 17.00 the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide is commemorated in our country with a minute of silence.

Crime cannot go unpunished. The perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide and the organizers of this genocide must be punished. History doesn’t forget anything.