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The conference of 1884 was the first to bear the name of "International Red Cross Conference". It was attended by delegates from twenty National Societies and the same number of States signatories to the Geneva Convention which had been signed twenty years earlier in Geneva by twelve States. This rather innovative structure was intended to bring closer to each other those personalities who were concerned by the Red Cross ambition to support the implementation and the development of the laws of war.
The participation of governmental envoys that were part and parcel of the International Conference helped indeed to make concrete proposals leading to a larger body of law to protect war victims. Simultaneously, it brought about a political dimension to the debates with all its positive and negative aspects. As a matter of fact, progress registered by International Conferences over the years tend to reflect political concerns, if not hampered by conflictual positions.
From the outset, it was clear, however, that representatives of National Societies felt a need to discuss some topics within the Red Cross family. To that end, the ICRC created the Commission of Delegates, which would later be known as the Council of Delegates, where National Societies came together with the International Committee, to be joined later also by the League.
The first Conference was immediately confronted with a question, which was to dominate the debates for years to come, although in different variations: the role and structure of the International Committee. As a neutral body, its responsibilities were not debated. But it became more and more clear that it would have to better consider and take into account the existence of National Societies and their demands to be associated in developments affecting their own environment.
After four International Conferences and twenty-four years of uncertainty, a definition of the links which would connect the neutral international institution - the International Committee - and the independent Red Cross Societies was found. It was recognized, in Karlsruhe in 1887, that the Red Cross was united by one quite distinctive feature: a common ideal. As a consequence, its future would evolve in a more flexible manner and the principle of independence of the National Societies was acknowledged and no longer contested.
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