Amnesty: Ireland's abortion laws do not protect human rights
Amnesty International has said the global response to atrocities by states and armed groups in 2014 has been "shameful and ineffective".
The human rights organisation is launching its annual report today, which has found that war crimes and other violations of the "laws of war" were carried out in at least 18 countries of the 160 they studied.
It says the international community has failed utterly to deal with conflicts in countries including Syria, Nigeria and Iraq.
Amnesty predicts that violence will only increase this year as armed groups such as Boko Haram, IS and Al Shabaab continue to gain strength.
It is calling on international governments to stop pretending that the protection of civilians is beyond their power and deal with the humanitarian crises that these conflicts create.
The Amnesty report is also critical of Ireland, saying abortion legislation here does not comply with human rights obligations.
It says the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act provides insufficient guidance to medical professionals in assessing when a pregnancy poses a risk to life.
However, the charity has welcomed the Constitutional Convention on civil marriage for same-sex couples.
It also praised the removal of the offence of blasphemy, and the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights into the constitution.
