The International Committee of the Red Cross had the honour of providing you, by Circular 483 of September 1971, with a report on the work of the Conference of Government Experts on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts which was held in Geneva from 24 May to 12 June 1971. The same Circular informed you of the second session of that Conference which would be open to all States expressly party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and that, in order to closely associate National Societies with this work, the International Committee had decided to invite representatives of those societies to attend as observers.