Governments are failing to protect millions of civilians from violence by states and armed groups, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, Feb 25 describing the global response to widespread conflict from Nigeria to Syria as "shameful and ineffective", according to Reuters.

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 Two, 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 UN refugee agency, which has repeatedly urged rich nations to take more refugees.

"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.

"It is abhorrent to see how wealthy countries' efforts to keep people out take precedence over their efforts to keep people alive."

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

Islamist militants Boko Haram have killed thousands of people in northeastern Nigeria in a five-year insurgency, while Islamic State 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.