On 26 February 2018, IDEA Public Union, State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and Sabunchu District Executive Power held a tree planting ceremony in remembrance of the victims of the Khojaly Genocide, which occurred during the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1992.

Organized as part of the international awareness campaign “Justice for Khojaly”, the event aimed to honor the memory of victims, remembering and teaching the young generation about the impact of hatred and intolerance through learning about the Khojaly tragedy. c, about 120 young people, particularly the participants of 4^th National Forum and international students studying in Azerbaijan took part in the planting event.

The event started with one-minute silence and followed with national anthem performance accompanied by orchestra from the No.2 boarding school. Later, having expressed their views on the impact of war on children, the young participants planted a total of 63 evergreen cypress trees with name tags attached on them in the memory of 63 killed children.

The “Justice for Khojaly” International Awareness Campaign was launched in 2008 by Vice-president of Hedar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of the Khojaly Genocide, root causes and consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the need for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan. 

At the closing of the tree planting event, children visited the Khojaly Genocide Monument (Mother’s Cry) and laid flowers.