History
The creation of the International Committee of Military Medicine
Honour to them…
Once peace had returned, and despite the fact that they were still facing an influenza pandemic whose consequences were to be just as dramatic, military medical personnel from many countries felt the need to share their experience and knowledge through scientific congresses, where everyone could learn from each other.
In 1920, on the occasion of the 28th congress of the Military Association of Medical Officers of the United States of America (AMSUS), Commandant médecin Jules VONCKEN, surgeon, met Captain William Seaman BAINBRIDGE, MD (US NAVY) whom he had met on the plains of the Yser… Both fully convinced of the need to learn from each other’s experiences, they came up with the idea of creating a neutral forum, in the form of an international organization of armed forces medical services, where all participants could freely exchange and deal with health and medical ethics in the military environment.
The ICMM is an international, intergovernmental organization made up of over 100 states.
Back in Belgium, Jules VONCKEN convinced his military authorities and, with the support of His Majesty the King of the Belgians ALBERT I, the Comité Permanent des Congrès Internationaux de Médecine et de Pharmacie Militaires (CPCIMPM) was officially founded on July 21, 1921.
The eight founding countries were Belgium, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France and Brazil. The first Congress of Military Medicine and Pharmacy was held in Brussels in July 1921. Since then, forty-five world congresses of military medicine have been organized.
Major General Jules VONCKEN and the Committee
The Committee recognized the central role that Belgium had played in its establishment and assigned in its Statutes the seat and functions of Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General to the Belgian Military Medical Service.
Major General Jules VONCKEN was Secretary General from 1921 to 1976… when he died en route to his office in the Liège Military Hospital, where the Committee’s headquarters were located. He was succeeded by Médecin Colonel Jules MATHIEU, Médecin Lieutenant-Colonel Marcel COOLS, Médecin Colonel Jacques SANABRIA, Médecin Général-major e.r. Roger VAN HOOF, Medical Officer Major e.r. Geert LAIRE and Doctor Lieutenant General e.r. Pierre Neirinckx in office to date.
In addition to his duties with the Belgian Military Medical Service and the CIMM, General-Major Jules VONCKEN was the architect of major international projects on moral and ethical issues. Among other things, he helped revise the protocols to the Geneva Conventions in 1948. His knowledge, commitment and reputation as a fervent defender of human values made him a major contributor to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The CPCIMPM evolved into the Comité International de Médecine Militaire (CIMM), an international, inter-governmental organization.
Becoming a member of the CIMM
The CIMM is an international, intergovernmental organization, made up of full members and observer members. All member countries of the United Nations can join the CIMM by formally accepting its Statutes.
Admission is validated when the application is approved by the CIMM General Admission Meeting.
The CIMM World Congresses:
To further its missions, the CIMM organizes world and regional congresses of military medicine. A congress is held in one of the CIMM member states on a biennial basis.
The aims of the world and regional congresses are:
– To encourage official relations between Directors of Military Health Services and with representatives of Intergovernmental, International and Non-Governmental Organizations pursuing objectives in common with the CIMM.
– Establish the current state of knowledge and research activities relating to military medicine.
– Disseminate scientific information on the activities of military medical services.
– Provide a framework and resources for CIMM governance meetings (General Assembly, Working Groups, etc.).
1921 – Brussels, Belgium, 1923 – Rome, Italy, 1925 – Paris, France, 1927 – Warsaw, Poland, 1929 – London, United Kingdom, 1931 – The Hague, The Netherlands, 1933 – Madrid, Spain, 1935 – Brussels, Belgium, 1937 – Bucharest, Romania, 1939 – Washington, United States, 1947 – Basel, Switzerland, 1949 – Mexico City, Mexico, 1951 – Paris, France, 1954 – Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 1957 – Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1959 – Teheran, Iran, 1963 – Caracas, Venezuela, 1965 – Bangkok, Thailand, 1969 – Dublin, Ireland, 1971 – Brussels, Belgium, 1973 – Bucharest, Romania, 1976 – Lima, Peru, 1980 – Santiago, Chile, 1982 – Athens, Greece, 1984 – Baghdad, Iraq, 1986 – Marrakech, Morocco, 1988 – Interlaken, Switzerland, 1990 – Madrid, Spain , 1993 – Istanbul, Turkey, 1994 – Augsburg, Germany, 1996 – Beijing, China, 1998 – Vienna, Austria, 2000 – Espoo, Finland, 2002 – Sun City, South Africa, 2004 – Washington, United States, 2005 – St Petersburg, Russia, 2007 – Tunis, Tunisia, 2009 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2011 – Abuja, Nigeria, 2013 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2015 – Bali, Indonesia, 2017 – New Delhi, India, 2019 – Basel, Switzerland, 2022 – Brussels, Belgium, 2024 – Brisbane, Australia
ICMM’s activities include
– Military medicine as a whole,
– Study of aptitude assessment techniques,
– Investigative medicine, Mass medicine, Dentistry,
– Military pharmacy, Veterinary science,
– Administration, organization and logistics of medical care missions.
The current objectives are as follows:
-Maintain and strengthen links between all the medical services of the member states,
-Promote medical-military scientific activities,
-Participate in the development of the medical and medical-military framework for humanitarian operations.
CIMM Reference Centre for Education in International Humanitarian Law and Ethics:
A CIMM Reference Centre for Education in International Humanitarian Law and Ethics was created in 2011.
Founded by Switzerland and run by Swiss officers, it works under the authority of the CIMM Secretary General, under the supervision of the Chairman of the CIMM Scientific Council.
For more information on the background to the creation of the CIMM Reference Centre for Education in International Humanitarian Law and Ethics, please visit the following website: www.melac.ch
HISTORY: OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS