Netherlands
Practice Relating to Rule 8. Definition of Military Objectives
The Military Manual (1993) of the Netherlands notes that the Government of the Netherlands has declared that “an area of land can constitute a military objective as long as it fulfils the conditions thereof”.
The Military Manual (2005) of the Netherlands states that “[t]he [Dutch] Government has also declared that a given piece of terrain may also form a military objective”.
At the CDDH, the Netherlands stated that it interpreted Article 47 of the draft Additional Protocol I (now Article 52) to mean that:
A specific area of land may be a military objective if, because of its location or other reasons specified in Article 47 [now Article 52 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I], its total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
Upon ratification of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Netherlands stated:
1. With regard to article 2, paragraph 4, of Protocol II: It is the understanding of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that a specific area of land may also be a military objective if, because of its location or other reasons specified in paragraph 4, its total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage;
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4. With regard to article 1, paragraph 3, of Protocol III: It is the understanding of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that a specific area of land may also be a military objective if, because of its location or other reasons specified in paragraph 3, its total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
Upon ratification of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, the Netherlands stated:
It is the understanding of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that a specific area of land may also be a military objective if, because of its location or other reasons specified in paragraph 2 [of Article 52 of the Protocol], its total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
Upon acceptance of the 1996 Amended Protocol II to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Netherlands stated with regard to Article 2(6) of the Amended Protocol:
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands takes the view that a specific area of land may also be a military objective if, because of its location or other reasons specified in paragraph six, its total or partial destruction, capture, or neutralization in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.