More openness on civilian casualties

Roadmap for Article 100 deployment

In 2022, the Defence organisation published a roadmap for more openness with regard to civilian casualties during deployments. It centres on so-called Article 100 deployments: missions to uphold and strengthen the international rule of law.

Before such missions, the government sends a so-called Article 100 letter to the House of Representatives, unless there is an emergency situation. As part of these letters, the Defence organisation describes the risk of civilian casualties occurring and what it is doing to reduce that risk. Such letters also state how Defence shares information about the deployment of weapons during missions.

The roadmap comprises:

1. The risk of civilian casualties occurring is described in Article 100 letters.
2. The Ministry of Defence states in advance how transparent it can be about the deployment of weapons by the Netherlands. The Defence organisation thereby takes into consideration the risk to the safety of personnel, to the operation and to the security of the Netherlands and its partners.
3. During the mission, Defence assesses whether it is being sufficiently transparent about the deployment of weapons by the Netherlands.
4. The subject of civilian casualties has an important role in the evaluation of missions.

The protection of civilians during armed conflict is included in the foreign policy of the Netherlands.

Independent evaluation

In general, the Dutch government has the final evaluation of missions carried out by an independent party. When doing so, it calls for particular attention to be paid to the subject of civilian casualties. The outcomes of these evaluations could help Defence to better protect civilians in future missions.

Air campaign data set

To be as transparent as possible about its deployment of weapons, the Defence organisation has shared a large dataset of operational information about the Dutch contribution to the anti-ISIS coalition's air campaign.