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Abstract Confronted with drifts, the sector of humanitarian action could no longer evade the question of responsibility by considering that doing good would be enough to be legitimate: it has had to concern itself with the prevention of corruption. But this has complicated upstream procedures, increased demands of results, and the players have begun to compete with each other because of goals defined by financial bankers. In other respects, the responsibility of states is sometimes suspected, if an intervention has happened too late or worsened the situation. Moreover, states do not guarantee, as they should, the protection and the assistance of people in case of an armed conflict; other players have to then take over (Red Cross, NGOs, UN-agencies with humanitarian mandate, private firms...).