On February 25, 2022, a conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The event was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations in the Republic of Azerbaijan.      

At the beginning of the event, the memory of the victims of the Khojaly genocide was commemorated with a minute of silence.    

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev, prominent international lawyer Malcolm Shaw and witness of the Khojaly genocide Lafkhanim (Nargiz) Mahmudova spoke at the conference.

In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov spoke about the Khojaly genocide, one of the gravest crimes committed against the civilian population during the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan 30 years ago. Stressing that 613 civilians were killed overnight with particular cruelty due to their ethnicity, the minister said it was a manifestation of the racist policy pursued by Armenia. Jeyhun Bayramov noted that the Azerbaijani government is constantly working to convey the truth about Khojaly to the international community, and said that so far, the national legislative bodies of 17 countries, as well as 24 US states have adopted relevant resolutions strongly condemning the crime. The Minister noted that the positive steps taken by Armenia in this direction, albeit belatedly, could be a serious contribution to the normalization of relations between the two peoples, but stressed with regret that even today we have not seen it.

Speaking at the conference, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev noted that in order to achieve peace in the post-conflict period, it is first necessary to establish justice, including for the victims of the Khojaly genocide. Hikmet Hajiyev noted that despite the coverage of the Khojaly genocide by the world media, the crimes against humanity committed by the Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijanis in Bashlibel, Malibeyli and Garadaghly were not sufficiently covered. He stressed that the Armenian people must accept the genocide committed to erase this black stain and apologize for it.  

International lawyer Malcolm Shaw spoke about the legal aspects of the Khojaly genocide. He said that the crime committed in Khojaly was a gross violation of the norms and principles of international humanitarian law by Armenia. The lawyer stressed that it is important to remember war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and to prevent their recurrence.

Speaking at the conference, Khojaly witness Lafkhanim (Nargiz) Mahmudova, who was captured for 7 days at the age of 9 during the Khojaly genocide, spoke about the atrocities committed against her and her family during the Khojaly genocide. She talked about how the Armenian armed forces surrounded and fired on the civilian population and the horrors they experienced at that time. Lafkhanim (Nargiz) Mahmudova thanked the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, emphasizing that 30 years of longing had ended, and asked Allah to rest the souls of our martyrs.           

The event continued with a memorial concert.