The museum was opened in 1988 adjacent to the headquarters of the
International Committee of the Red Cross. From 1991 to 2024, it was partially funded an annual subsidy from the
Swiss foreign ministry of 1.1 million francs ($1.2 million), equivalent to around a quarter of its overall budget. In September 2024, the
Swiss government, as part of cost-cutting measures, transferred the subsidization of the museum to
the culture ministry, which sparked fears over the museum's operating expenses due to the ministry's policy of forcing museums applying for the subsidy to compete with each other. In July 2025, an agreement was reached in which the culture ministry would subsidize 170,000 francs to the museum annually, while the
cantonal government of Geneva and the foreign ministry would each provide 400,000 francs annually. ==Collections==