The ICMM Reference Center of Education of
International Humanitarian Law and Ethics
In August, new steps have been performed in the implementation of the new ICMM Reference Center of Education of International Humanitarian Law and Ethics in Switzerland.
On August the 17th, the ICMM Secretary General met the Surgeon General of the Swiss Armed Forces in the Medical Services Directorate, in Ittigen near Bern.
On August the 19th, a strong delegation of the ICMM (Secretary General, Chairman of the Scientific Council, Director of International Relations, Chairperson of the Technical Commission on Logistics) visited in Zürich the infrastructures of the two organisms that will support the activities of the ICMM Reference Center of Education of International Humanitarian Law and Ethics.
- The Swiss Military Academy at ETH Zürich (MILAK) is the training centre for career officers of Swiss army, an internationally recognized authority center for military sciences. Since 1877, ETH Zurich has offered courses and lectures in the military sciences. This traditional link between military academy and university takes advantage of the opportunity to educate military specialists in close contact with the academic world.
- The Zurich University Center for Ethics, Department of Applied Ethics: a contract of collaboration had been signed between the University of Zürich and the Surgeon General of the Swiss Armed Forces. This University Center is an Institute for Social Ethics, an Ethics Research Institute and an Institute of Biomedical Ethics. Its activities comprise academic teaching, research and services to the public.
- Oral presentations relating to the infrastructure, the organization and the management of the activities have been performed by the Commander of the Swiss Military Academy at ETH, the Director of the ICMM Reference Center of Education of International Humanitarian Law and Ethics and the Director of the Zurich University Center for Ethics, Department of Applied Ethics. The ICMM Reference Center will comprise a Directorate, an International Staff (Medical Unit LOAC CHE [Swiss Armed Forces Support Staffs and Teams]), the Course of Reference of Spiez (Train the Trainers, International Courses on LOAC) and an Advisory Board (Think Tank, Evolution of international Humanitarian Law and military-medical Ethics).
To end, on August the 20th in Spiez, the Opening Ceremony of the 12th ICMM International Course on The Law of Armed Conflicts (LOAC) was associated to a Signing Ceremony for a Contract of Cooperation between the ICMM Secretary General and the Head of International Relations of the Swiss Armed Forces Medical Services. The ICMM Secretary General has expressed his gratitude to the Swiss authorities for the appreciated support they are providing to the International Committee of Military Medicine through the ICMM Reference Center of Education of International Humanitarian Law and Ethics.
