US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE3133

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 003133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO EB/ESC/TFS (GGLASS), S/CT (TNAVRATIL), 
IO/PHO (APEREZ), EUR, NSC (GPETERS), TREASURY (JZARETE), 
OFAC DIRECTOR (RNEWCOMB) AND TREASURY TASK FORCE ON 
TERRORIST FINANCING 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2013 
TAGS: ECON, EFIN, ETTC, NL, PREL, PTER 
SUBJECT: AL QAIDA TRAVEL BAN - NETHERLANDS 
 
REF: STATE 337571 
 
Classified By: Classified by Global Section Head Andrew Mann 
for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: The Dutch take their responsibilities under 
the UN sanction regime seriously and have a "visa lookout" 
system, albeit with limitations, which incorporates 
information on individuals listed by the 1267 Committee. 
Restricting use of Dutch passports for international travel 
is more problematic.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU)  Global Issues Head delivered demarche (reftel) to 
Robert van Embden, Head, MFA Judicial and Police Cooperation 
Division, and Andre van Wiggen, Senior Policy Officer.  Van 
Embden remarked that the Dutch take their responsibilities 
under UNSC Resolutions 1267, 1390 and 1455 seriously and 
expressed concern about reports of travel within Europe by 
individuals designated and listed by the 1267 Committee. 
 
3. (C) Van Wiggen then explained Dutch procedures for 
reviewing issuance of travel documents.  Every month the MFA 
prepares and sends to all its diplomatic/consular posts a 
CD-ROM containing names and information on individuals under 
UN travel restrictions.  Each visa applicant is supposed to 
be checked against this CD-ROM list as well as through the 
Schengen Information System (SIS).  A post is not authorized 
to issue a visa to any applicant whose name receives a "hit." 
 In such a situation, the file is referred for further 
consideration to the MFA, which forwards the information to 
the intelligence service, AIVD, for additional review.  The 
MFA retains final authority for issuing a visa or permitting 
travel in such cases.  Van Wiggen said in some instances, the 
MFA will decide to issue a visa or permit travel to someone 
listed on the CD-ROM in order to be able to monitor their 
movements in the Netherlands.  He noted, for example, the 
Dutch had known in advance of Mullah Krekar's travel to the 
Netherlands late last year and had not prevented it.  This 
CD-ROM system will remain in effect, these MFA officials 
said, until the EU's Visa Information System is operational - 
in a few years.  Van Wiggen pointed out two shortcomings in 
the current system: there is always a month's lag between 
delivery of the CD-ROMs, so individuals designated and listed 
by the 1267 Committee have a small window in which to avoid 
detection under current operations; and, the information from 
the UN that is used in the CD-ROM is often limited (i.e., 
maybe a name and birth year or range of years), making an 
exact match up with an individual difficult. 
 
4. (C) The situation is different for issuing passports. 
Dutch law grants its citizens an almost absolute right to a 
passport, according to van Embden and van Wiggen.  In 
addition, passport issuance is handled by local 
municipalities - not the national authorities.  While a Dutch 
citizen may have the right to a passport, van Embden and van 
Wiggen noted there was no corresponding right to leave the 
country.  When a person with a Dutch passport crosses the 
country's external border, they are checked against a 
national "blacklist" which includes persons with travel 
restriction under the UN and departure can be denied.  Van 
Wiggen cautioned, however, that under Schengen rules, such a 
person could freely travel to another country in the Schengen 
zone and cross its external border, avoiding detection under 
the Dutch "blacklist" system. 
 
Sobel 
SOBEL