This book examines the humanitarian movement, its history, its actors, the difficulties that are part and parcel of its deployment in complex environments, as well as the international relations in which it is the “David” alongside the “Goliath” states facing it. The author aims to analyse how the nature of today’s wars and the actors in them differ from those seen by Henry Dunant, founder of the International Red Cross, and from those that prevailed in 1945 when the United Nations was created. Once the challenges impeding the major NGOs’ ability to intervene in armed conflict zones have been highlighted, this book will suggest ways the situation might be transformed so that the main pitfalls can be avoided, and humanitarians can continue their crucial work in a safe and ethical manner.