The International Committee of the Red Cross contacted the Czechoslovak Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva on August 23, requesting him to convey to the President of the Czechoslovak Red Cross an invitation to come to Geneva or to delegate the National Society's Head of External Affairs. The purpose of the invitation, extended in agreement with the League of Red Cross Societies, was both to enquire whether the Czechoslovak Red Cross had need of any assistance as a result of current events, and to enable one of its leading members to take part in the meetings of National Red Cross Societies which have been scheduled to take place in Geneva for months past.