With its nine war surgery hospitals treating thousands of wounded people in various parts of the world, the ICRC has gained unique experience in this area.

In order to make use of what it has learnt and spread that knowledge to others, a war surgery seminar was organized by the ICRC's Medical Division at the institution's headquarters from 30 March to April 1990. The seminar, which was opened by ICRC Vice-President Maurice Aubert, had the following objectives:

— recruit more surgeons to meet growing needs in the treatment war victims;

— prepare surgeons for medical missions in the field and especially for the particular demands of war surgery;

— set up a coherent and rigorous system to classify wounds using ballistics to understand the effects of war injuries on the human body and their implications in terms of surgery.