This leads to an awareness that humanitarian principles are common to all human communities wherever they may be. When different customs, ethics and philosophies are gathered for comparison, and when they are melted down, their particularities eliminated and only what is general extracted, one is left with a pure substance which is the heritage of all mankind.

The idea that mankind must be protected against the scourge of war can be found among all the peoples of Antiquity. It was only in the nineteenth century, however, that considerable efforts were undertaken to make war more humane. The decisive events were the creation of the ICRC in February 1863 and the signature, in August 1864, of the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, which signalled the birth of international humanitarian law.
See also:

ICRC archives

History of the ICRC

History of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement