国际特赦:2014年是灾难性的一年

The year 2014 was a "catastrophic" one for millions of people around the world, a human rights watchdog group said Wednesday.

In its annual human rights report, Amnesty International said millions of civilians were killed from Syria to Ukraine, Gaza to Nigeria, while the number of displaced people around the world exceeded 50 million last year for the first time since the end of World War II.

The report accused world governments of failing to protect civilians from violence by states and armed groups.

Shetty, Secretary-General, Amnesty International said:"The main point that we are making in our report is that the response from the international community and those who could potentially stop this from continuing has been dismal, in fact shameful. And we are making some clear calls on what the world can do to reverse the situation and improve the protection that civilians deserve.''

Amnesty said armed groups committed abuses in at least 35 countries in 2014, and called the rise of the Islamic State militant group a particular concern.

The report accused Islamic State of committing widescale war crimes, including mass summary killings and abductions that targeted minorities, and subjecting hundreds of women and girls to sexual abuse.

Amnesty singled out the United Nations Security Council for criticism, saying the five permanent council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - "consistently abused" their veto right to "promote their political self-interest" above that of protecting civilians.

The group is urging the five states to give up their right to veto action in cases where genocide and other mass killings are being committed.