Sixty years ago today, the Geneva Conventions were adopted. This defining event played a central role in expanding the protection provided to victims of armed conflicts. But conflicts will get ever more "pernicious," the ICRC said Wednesday, as it made a fresh plea for armed groups and states to protect civilians and detainees.

"On the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, I make a heartfelt plea to states and non-state armed groups who are also bound by their provisions to show the requisite political will to turn legal provisions into a meaningful reality," said Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Geneva-based ICRC is the internationally-recognised guardian of the 1949 laws protecting civilians, detainees, the wounded and humanitarian workers in conflicts. The conventions have been ratified by 194 countries.

But the ICRC says there have been violations on a regular basis in the field, ranging from the mass displacement of civilians to sexual violence against women and the use of child soldiers.

Amid challenges ranging from rising civil wars to the blurring of lines between combatants and civilians, the ICRC says more clarity is needed on certain aspects of the conventions in order to ensure better compliance and enforcement.

Listen to ICRC's Marcel Izard interviewed by International Justice Editor Hermione Gee: