Show details for ICRC Info : [About the ICRC\History\Founding]ICRC Info : [About the ICRC\History\Founding]

©Droits réservés/hist-00056
The battle of Solferino, 1859
The period between 1863 and 1914 saw the vision of Henry Dunant become reality, through the increasingly operational role played by the Committee (see articles in this section) and through the creation of national Red Cross societies (Red Crescent, in the case of Turkey).

Parallel to the growth of the Red Cross was the birth of modern humanitarian law: internationally-agreed rules, applicable to all conflicts, that were to guarantee assistance for the wounded and sick – and later, to apply to prisoners and civilians.

Since the outset, the ICRC played a central role in this, and its work in the development of humanitarian law has been inseparable from its field work for victims.


See also

  • Resolutions of the Geneva international conference of 29 October 1863

  • Text of the first Geneva Convention (22 August 1864)

    More articles on ICRC history can be found in the International Review of the Red Cross