The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the situation in Iraq and Syria was “utterly unsustainable” and that unless urgent action was taken “things risk getting even worse".

In an address to the UN Security Council In New York, High Commissioner António Guterres called the situation in the Middle East “a cancer that risks spreading and metastasizing”. “If things continue this way, we could see future developments spin out of control, independently of our will and with increasingly dangerous global consequences," he warned.

"We have to recognize the increasingly protracted nature of this refugee crisis,” added Mr Guterres, as he called for increased humanitarian aid, as well as “stopping the horrific loss of life in the Mediterranean”.

However, Mr Guterres warned that the situation could deteriorate further, saying, “after Iraq became so dramatically engulfed in the Syrian conflict with the attacks on Mosul and Tikrit last year, I do not know where the next disrupting shock will take place.” “I only know that it will come, and that things risk getting even worse," he added.

He was joined by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt, who said “it is time for the Security Council to work as one to end the conflict, and reach a settlement that also brings justice and accountability for the Syrian people."

Highlighting the effect of sexual violence on civilians in the region, she went on to say "we also need to send a signal that we are serious about accountability for these crimes, for that is the only hope of establishing any deterrence.”

“And I call on member states to begin preparations now so that Syrian women are fully represented in future peace negotiations, in accordance with multiple resolutions of the Security Council," concluded Ms Jolie-Pitt.