92

The manual also describes the three roles that the central government can fulfl in the
event of a crisis: to facilitate, to navigate and to steer. When central government
facilitates, it supports the responsible authorities at the request of the authorities or on
its own initiative. This may involve, for example, providing resources, expertise, advice,
information or knowledge, or providing opportunities for harmonisation and coordination
between parties. The responsibility for the crisis approach will continue to be solely that
of the authorities for which facilitation services are being provided.
Central government may navigate in a situation in which some form of coordination and/
or incentive for clarity with regard to management and coordination is desired or
required. This is realised through an urgent advice from central government to one or
more safety regions or municipalities. Regardless of the GRIP level, central government
can provide urgent advice at the request of the authorities or on its own initiative that
aims to lead to a joint crisis approach and/or to unite different interests. The advice can
relate to one or more aspects of the crisis approach. The authorities may depart from the
central government’s advice only with good reasons.
Central government can steer one or more aspects of the crisis approach by giving
instructions and/or by declaring GRIP Rijk¹⁴⁴ effective. Central government (in the person
of the competent line minister) can give an instruction to the involved parties if, for
example, they ignore its urgent advice on the crisis approach. If a (binding) instruction is
given, central government does not assume responsibility for the execution, but enables
the involved parties to execute it.
Safety Regions Act (Wet veiligheidsregio’s) ¹⁴⁵
The Safety Regions Act integrates frefghting, emergency response, crisis management,
and emergency medical services at the regional level. The mayor has the supreme
command in case of a disaster or serious fear of its occurrence. Those who participate in
disaster response are under his command. The Dutch territory is divided into regions.
The mayor and aldermen of the municipalities that belong to a region use a common
system, in which a safety region is set. The administration of a safety region is, among
other things, charged with organising the emergency response and crisis management
and to provide the control room function. The administration of the safety region will lay
down a crisis plan at least once every four years, in which in any case the organisation,
the responsibilities, the tasks and competences are described within the framework of
disaster response and crisis management. If a disaster or crisis of regional signifcance
occurs, or if there is a serious fear that it will ensue, the chair of the safety region will have
the highest command for disaster and crisis control in the municipalities involved.
The underlying Safety Regions Decree (Besluit veiligheidsregio’s) describes the specifc
requirements that the disaster response organisation must meet. Within the framework
of this investigation during which the registration/collection of passenger information
and the informing of relatives were examined, Article 2.3.1 of the Decree is relevant.

¹⁴⁴ For more information about the coordinated regional incident response procedure (GRIP), see Chapter 4,
‘Scaling-up and GRIP system’.
¹⁴⁵ Act dated 11 February 2010, see Sections 5, 8, 9, 10 and 16.

94

processes. Whether population management is required will depend on the situation.
One of the population management processes in the sub-plan is the process of
informing relatives. This process aims to inform relatives of non-self-reliant victims
about the situation of their loved ones. They are informed actively.
• Acting as a safety net to determine and offer the required assistance (in cooperation
with the airline involved and Schiphol) if the airline involved (and the handling agent
of this airline) does not have the capacity for this.
• If required, informing relatives of affected passengers through the national front and
back offce of the victim information system SIS. Relatives will be supported within
this context when contacting the SIS, if necessary.¹⁴⁹
• Informing relatives (about the process) on site by/through the Regional Crisis
Communication Action Centre in the context of public information provision (or taking
responsibility for this).
In case of a fatality, the police will notify the relatives and provide them with further
guidance (regarding the conduct of the police investigation, if applicable).
Police Act (Politiewet)
In addition to keeping public order and investigating crimes, the police also has the task
of collecting information for the identifcation of victims. With a large number of victims,
or in complex cases, the LTFO is deployed.
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is responsible for policing duties at airports. In
addition to its role in the crisis organisation, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee - under
the authority of the Public Prosecutor - also has an independent task within the framework
of criminal investigations, for example into the cause of an aircraft accident. Victims,
relatives and bystanders may be registered for the investigation. After all, they can be
eyewitnesses or even potential perpetrators.
Departmental Manual for Crisis Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(Departementaal Handboek Crisisbeheersing Buitenlandse Zaken)
The Departmental Manual for Crisis Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets
down the method of operation for the Ministry in the case of a (imminent) crisis. It clarifes
the roles, responsibilities and competences within the crisis organisation of Foreign
Affairs and the position of the Ministry within the national crisis structure. In addition, the
manual offers practical guidelines in the area of crisis communication, teams and
documentation. The manual fts in with the National Manual on Decision-making in Crisis
Situations and is intended for all employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are
involved in the Ministry’s crisis organisation in some way.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the Dutch response in the event of crises
abroad. This means that, if Dutch nationals are potentially affected by a disaster, accident
or crisis abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for handling the resulting
(consular) activities. The measures to be taken in the Netherlands fall under the
responsibility of the Ministry of Security and Justice while other ministries are responsible
for specifc sectoral measures.

¹⁴⁹ For more information about the victim information system SIS, see Section 4.5.1 of this report.

96

The Minister of Foreign Affairs decides on points presented by the Secretary-General,
his or her deputy or by the central crisis coordinator. He or she then informs the Minister
of Security and Justice about the state of affairs and participates in the MCCb if required.
During a crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a pool of approximately 100 employees
trained specifcally, who can be called in quickly if there is a large demand for information
by telephone in relation to a crisis. The Ministry opens a special public information
number for the crisis telephone team. The relevant department (usually the Consular
Affairs and Migration Policy Department) will manage the deployment of the crisis
telephone team. The role of the missions abroad during a crisis entails, among other
things, ensuring the timely and regular provision of information towards the department.
Releasing names of victims abroad, draft protocol (conceptprotocol Vrijgeven namen
slachtoffers in buitenland)
This draft protocol is compiled in 2012 by the NCC together with the Dutch Society of
Mayors (Nederlands Genootschap van Burgemeesters) following the aircraft accident in
Tripoli. The reason why this document was compiled is that mayors in the Netherlands
want to know as quickly as possible which of their residents may be involved in an
accident. This will ensure that they can assist the involved families as a ‘community father
fgure’ and help the local community during the grieving and coping process. The
document aims at formulating the preferences and agreements related to releasing
names during incidents abroad clearly and, as far as this may be possible, recording
these preferences and agreements. The document contains general principles, an
overview of the parties and roles/responsibilities involved, and an overview of the steps
to be taken in the event of a major incident abroad that involves Dutch nationals.
The draft protocol states that fnding the most up to date passenger list is extremely
diffcult. It is also possible that multiple lists are in circulation - or no lists at all. This is a
given during the entire process. That is why work is performed based on a list of missing
people. According to the draft protocol the LTFO draws up this list during the
identifcation procedure, which is performed with the greatest care and therefore requires
more time. The list of missing people is based on probability, and is not a publicly
established list. By making this list available early insight in the possible victims is
provided.
The draft protocol also indicates that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself compiles a list
of missing people based on the reports that the Ministry has received. The local
authorities also keep track of a list of missing people. When these two lists are compared
with each other, the list of missing people of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is more
authoritative. As soon as the LTFO is deployed, the list of missing people as drawn up by
the LTFO is - and will continue to be - a ‘working list’. Only after the identities of all
victims have been determined, the validity of the list of missing people that was used,
becomes clear. Therefore, as stated in the draft protocol, no single authority can vouch
for the list of missing people.
The responsibility for the list of identifed victims will depend on the situation. Abroad,
this will be the competent authority, of which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indeed
expects to receive confrmation. If the LTFO is deployed for the identifcation, the head