Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"In 1864 the Swiss government was host to delegates from 16 countries. They met in Geneva, and on August 22, a dozen of them adopted the Geneva Convention 'for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field.' Now, for the first time there was a statement of rules, legally binding on the signatories, guaranteeing neutrality and protection for wounded soldiers and medical personnel on the battlefield.… For the Swiss businessman Henri Dunant, it was a dream come true.… In 1863, he helped set up the International Committee of the Red Cross to achieve this aim." [Furtado: 1001 Days] "The creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (1864) was recognition of the need to treat prisoners of war fairly and a signal advance in “the laws of war” it was, arguably, the first treaty-bound international organization. By century’s end, the two Hague peace conferences (1899 and 1907) would codify the treatment of civilians and neutrals in wartime and provide a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes." [Kennedy: Parliament of Man, Kindle Edition, Location 165]