Between the creation of the Red Cross in 1863 and the year 1928, twelve International Conferences of the Red Cross took place without the support of a special commission to deal with aspects linked to this process.

It was the establishment of the American-sponsored League of Red Cross Societies in the aftermath of the First World War, which launched the negotiations towards new functioning rules for what was called the International Red Cross (the ICRC, the National Societies and their new federation, the League). This negotiating phase lasted eight years.

[An interesting account of that period of turbulence can be found in the books by Pierre Boissier, "From Solferino to Tsushima", and André Durand, "From Sarajevo to Hiroshima", History of the International Committee of the Red Cross, published in English by Henry Dunant Institute in 1984, respectively 1985 (original French version published in 1978).]

During more than half a century, the responsibility to convene and organize International Conferences rested with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the founding body of the Movement. It all started in a rather confusing way. The First International Conference was to take place in Paris in1867 to coincide with the World Exhibition, an exercise of propaganda in a period of time when France was already at odds with Germany.

Between 22 August 1864, when the twelve States taking part in the Diplomatic Conference had signed the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded of Armies in the Field, and the first International Conference of Aid Societies for the Nursing of War Wounded in 1867, a number of Red Cross Societies were born. There were persistent moves to revise the Convention, notably to introduce protection for the volunteers following the armies who did not yet benefit from a neutral status. Discussions and negotiations lead to filling some gaps in the Convention which was amended accordingly and submitted for approval to the first International Conference at the end of August 1867.

During the following years, the ICRC was the only permanent body in the Red Cross environment. As such, it became the flagship of the Movement for all international matters. Through its dissemination of the Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross, it was entitled to maintain links with National Societies which were busy establishing themselves inside their own countries. The ICRC was instrumental in maintaining the International Conferences after the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war, when it took over from Austria to finally convene the Third Conference in Geneva in 1884. During the First World War, this leadership role was emphasized.

After the War, American influence came into the picture, owing to the creation of the League of Nations at the initiative of President Woodrow Wilson, which would eventually lead to the involvement of another key American personality in reshaping the new international humanitarian order. Henry Pomeroy Davison proposed to redirect Red Cross resources to peacetime activities and he founded, in 1919, the League of Red Cross Societies.

During the first decades of Red Cross existence, the developments of the humanitarian movement were closely intertwined with key political and military events of the time. This trend is still valid today.

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