Governments are not doing enough to protect civilians - Amnesty International

Governments are failing to protect millions of civilians from violence by states and armed groups, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, describing the global response to widespread conflict from Nigeria to Syria as "shameful and ineffective."

A year of catastrophic violence had led to one of the worst refugee crises in history, as the number of displaced people worldwide topped 50 million for the first time since the end of the World War II, the rights group said in its annual report.

Almost 4 million refugees have fled a four-year civil war in Syria, and about 95 percent are being hosted by Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, according to the U.N. refugee agency, which has repeatedly urged rich nations to take more refugees.

The growing influence of non-state armed groups such as Boko Haram and IS was a major concern, Amnesty said.

Armed Boko Haram fighters have killed thousands of people in northeastern Nigeria in a five-year insurgency, while ISIL has taken vast parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in territory under its control.

Armed groups committed abuses in more than 35 countries in 2014, including the Central African Republic and India, the rights group said.

Amnesty said there would be more victims of abuse and persecution as the influence of such groups spilled across national borders, and singled out the U.N. Security Council for criticism, warning that the situation would get worse this year unless leaders took immediate action.

"As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression, the international community has been found wanting," Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty said in a statement.

"Government leaders justify human rights violations by talking of the need to keep the world 'safe'," Shetty said. "But knee-jerk reactions do not work. Instead they create an environment of repression in which extremism can thrive."