since 1986 there has been no legislation and policy for civil protection in times of war or crisis.
In these times of war, mobility cannot be taken for granted because when the siren goes off, there is imminent danger. On the first Monday of the month at 12.00:XNUMX, your municipality tests whether the siren works. We are so used to it that we don't even notice it anymore. But the threat of war is not far away and what do you do when the siren goes off at another time?
There are no in the Netherlands bunkers or shelters for the people, in case we get involved in a major armed conflict. This is the result of the abolition of the Civil Protection Act in 1986. But its absence does not absolve the government of its duty to protect civilians in times of war or crisis. And also to take preventive precautions for this, says lawyer and criminal law expert Geert Jan Knoops critically.
If you hear the siren, there may be hazardous materials. Therefore, go inside as soon as possible and close all windows, doors, grilles and other openings. But what do you do when the siren doesn't go off in Ukraine? The risk of danger is smallest indoors. That applies to everyone. In most cases, an air-raid shelter is the way out. Knoops is surprised that since 1986 there has been no legislation and policy for civil protection in times of war or crisis. Knoops points out that since 2004 there have been several cases in which the government was called to account for failing to protect civilians in a war or crisis situation.
"The European Court of Human Rights has stated in various rulings that on the basis of the human rights treaty, citizens can derive a so-called positive duty from the state to prevent life from being endangered. That goes quite far."
The difficulty, according to lawyer Knoops, is that it is difficult for us to imagine disasters and conflicts. “A dirty bomb, an attack, a nuclear accident or war, it all seems far away,” he says. Yet the threat is closer than thought. After all, who would have thought last year that today we would be dealing with the direct consequences of a war barely 1500 kilometers away from us.
Finland, on the other hand, has been preparing for possible aggression by neighboring Russia for decades. And with the war in Ukraine, that has only gotten closer. The capital Helsinki, for example, has so many air-raid shelters that all residents of the city could shelter there for days. Many of the bunkers are used in everyday life for other functions.
don't be scared
The sirens in the Netherlands are tested every first Monday of the month at 12.00:4 noon. The monthly test will also be announced this time in English, Ukrainian and Russian so that Ukrainian refugees are not startled when the sirens blare on Monday, April XNUMX.
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