Despite concerns raised by MPs, the Netherlands Defence Minister confirmed during a recent parliamentary debate that the government still has no plans to disclose where or when in Iraq or Syria its airstrikes might have harmed civilians.<\/span><\/p>\n
While the renewed Dutch air campaign against so-called Islamic State has seen improved transparency<\/a>, all requests for information on the mission have so far been refused. On April 18th 2018, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands turned down a Freedom of Information request from RTL News for Internal Memoranda, which contained the locations and dates of Dutch strikes in Iraq. According to the Court<\/a>, publishing this information could present a “danger to the security of the state” and might, in an ongoing mission, “harm the relations with other states and international organizations”.<\/p>\n
21 written questions on civilian harm<\/b><\/p>\n
Prior to the debate, <\/span>elected representatives<\/span> posed <\/span>72 written questions<\/span><\/a> on the general progress the Dutch anti-ISIS mission has made over the past year. Of these, 21 were questions specifically focused on civilian harm issues, and the lack of public transparency and accountability for Dutch strikes. Some of those questions drew on a recent parliamentary briefing<\/a> provided by Airwars to MPs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just how we do it\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Salima Belhaj, MP for the social-liberal D66 which is a part of the governing coalition, reminded the minister of her own party\u2019s successful\u00a0<\/span>cross-party motion<\/span><\/a> which calls for more <\/span>detailed reporting on Dutch weapon deployments. \u201cWouldn\u2019t you find it interesting if the Cabinet would publish the locations and dates?\u201d she asked the Minister. Karabulut added that her party wholeheartedly supported this request for more transparency, stating that \u201cSP and D66 have throughout the years always jointly pushed for this.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n