The First International Conference of American States was held in Washington, D.C., from October 2, 1889 to April 19, 1890. It was a pivotal diplomatic gathering that brought together representatives from 18 countries in the Americas to discuss and recommend "for adoption to their respective Governments some plan of arbitration for the settlement of disagreements and disputes that may hereafter arise between them, and for considering questions relating to the improvement of business intercourse and means of direct communication between said countries, and to encourage such reciprocal commercial relations as will be beneficial to all and secure more extensive markets for the products of each of said countries."
The American States that took part in that Conference agreed to constitute the "International Union of American Republics for the prompt collection and distribution of commercial information," with its headquarters in Washington. Among its work the Conference recommended adopting provisions to govern extradition; declared that conquest does not create rights; and produced guidelines for the drafting of a treaty on arbitration that could avoid recourse to war as a means to resolve controversies among American nations.
This Conference laid the foundations of what would later become the Inter-American system; commercial concerns directed toward achieving greater integration; legal concerns with strengthening state and private sector ties in a peaceful environment of regional cooperation and security; and the establishment of specialized institutions in different spheres.