The Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations ( nl, Herinneringsmedaille voor Gewapende Humanitaire Operaties , french: Médaille commémorative pour opérations humanitaires armées) is a military decoration of
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It was established on 11 September 1987 and is awarded to military and civilian members of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independ ...
who participated in armed humanitarian operations. Although never explicitly stated, in practice, the medal is only awarded for a select number of operations on African soil.
Medal description
The medal is circular and struck from bronze, the
obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...
bears at its center a blue enamelled octagon with a yellow enamelled five-pointed star in the center. Along the outer circumference of the medal are thin enamelled lines of black, yellow and red surrounding the relief inscription "ARMED HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS" in french: OPÉRATIONS HUMANITAIRES ARMÉES) and in ( nl, GEWAPENDE HUMANITAIRE OPERATIES). The obverse of the medal is plain. The ribbon is azure blue, with three thin longitudinal in the
national colours
National colours are frequently part of a country's set of national symbols. Many states and nations have formally adopted a set of colours as their official "national colours" while others have ''de facto'' national colours that have become well ...
of Belgium, black, yellow and red.
The ribbon is adorned with small bronze clasps bearing the names of the operations in which the recipient participated.
Statute
The Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations is awarded to military and civilian members of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independ ...
who participated in good standing in armed humanitarian operations. The list of the operations for which the medal is awarded was initially included in the Royal Decree creating the medal, which was often amended. Currently, the award of the medal is very rare, but no longer required an amendment to the Royal Decree.
As for the
Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions, Belgium does not award different medals for each operation. If a person participated in more than one such operation, he or she will be awarded the Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations for each of these operations, each award represented by an additional clasp on the ribbon.
The award of the medal is not automatic. In order to be awarded the medal, one who meets the award conditions has to request it. The medal is awarded by the Human Resources Department of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independ ...
. In the period 2009–2013, the Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations was awarded 119 times.
See also
*
References
* Royal Decree of 11 September 1987 Creating a Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations
* Belgian military regulation DGHR-REG-DISPSYS-001 of 20 February 2006
* Quinot H., 1950, ''Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition.'' (Hasselt)
* Cornet R., 1982, ''Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl''., (Brussels)
* Borné A.C., 1985, ''Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985'' (Brussels)
* Report of written questions and answers in the Belgian House of Representatives, 17 March 2014 (QRVA 53–152)
External links
Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations
{{Belgium honours
1987 establishments in Belgium
Military awards and decorations of Belgium
Military of Belgium
Awards established in 1987