Sri Lanka was placed in the same league as Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia at a UN session last month, with members calling on the International Criminal Court of Justice to play a more prominent role.

Speaking at the at the June 22 briefing of the UN Security Council, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere of France said that his country was extremely concerned that civilians were increasingly targeted and that "humanitarian space" was no longer a sanctuary.

He invited States that had not yet ratified the two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions to do so as soon as possible and said that impunity must be ended.

"In addition, from Darfur to Iraq and Sri Lanka, millions of displaced people needed protection. He expressed great concern over attacks against humanitarian personnel and journalists, who must be protected using relevant Security Council resolutions," the Security Council said quoting Sabliere.

Sabliere added that unimpeded access should be provided to vulnerable populations and that the Council must be informed of obstacles to humanitarian assistance.

Karen Pierce, the United Kingdom representative, aligning her statement with the one made by Germany on behalf of the European Union, said ensuring the protection of civilians was central to the Council’s work.

She added that gender based violence was rampant and millions were displaced while humanitarian workers and journalists were being attacked. She also expressed concern over the impact on civilians in Burma, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

German representative Michael Von Ungern-Sternberg noted that while the number of conflicts had gone down, the number of civilians suffering due to armed conflict was on the rise. He also said parties to conflicts were increasingly disregarding respect for basic humanitarian law.

"The growing number of journalists being killed was also extremely disturbing, as was the number of humanitarian personnel being killed and attacked while on mission to help people in need,” he said.

“In that regard, he strongly condemned the recent killing of two workers of the Lebanese Red Cross, two Red Cross workers in Sri Lanka, two United Nations workers in Gaza, a member of Médecins sans Frontières in the Central African Republic, a member of Caritas International in Darfur and all other killings of humanitarian personnel," the Security Council quoted Ungern-Sternberg as saying.

International human rights law continued to be applicable to everyone within the jurisdiction of the State concerned in time of armed conflict Ungern-Sternberg said, adding that Council resolution 1612 set an enhanced framework for the protection of children in armed conflict.

International humanitarian law urged all parties to allow full, unimpeded access by humanitarian personnel to civilians in need of assistance.

Canadian representative John Mcnee, who also spoke on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, said the protection of civilians was not a theoretical debate and that men, women and children were being deliberately targeted by warring parties.

"Men, women and children continued to be the deliberate targets of warring parties and terrorist entities in Darfur, Afghanistan, Northern Uganda, Lebanon, Somalia and Sri Lanka, among other areas. The Council has given much laudable attention to the topic, but words must continue to be turned into deeds," he said.