By JOHN HEILPRIN

,

AP

UNITED NATIONS -U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, in her first appearance before the U.N. Security Council, signaled Thursday that the new U.S. administration feels a “responsibility” to sometimes take on nations that abuse their own citizens.

“As agreed to by member states in 2005 and by the Security Council in 2006, the international community has a responsibility to protect civilian populations from violations of international humanitarian law when states are unwilling or unable to do so,” Rice told the council in a closed-door session.

“The United States takes this responsibility seriously,” Rice said, according to a transcript of her remarks.

During the past year the U.N. has debated whether it has a responsibility to protect civilians in such cases. Last May the council discussed a proposal by France to authorize the U.N. to enter Myanmar and deliver aid without waiting for approval from the nation’s ruling military junta. Several countries, citing issues of sovereignty, blocked the idea.

Rice also emphasized that the U.S. would work to strengthen protections for civilians in conflict zones and support international prosecutions of war crimes.

“It is in this spirit of cooperation and determination that we will seek to use this body of international law to minimize human suffering and protect vulnerable populations,” Rice said.

She said the International Criminal Court “looks to become an important and credible instrument for trying to hold accountable the senior leadership responsible for atrocities committed in the Congo, Uganda, and Darfur.”

The U.S. opposed the court’s creation and for the past decade refused to join it. Nevertheless, it has been a key supporter of bringing Sudan’s president before the court on charges of orchestrating atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Rice also defended Israel while pressuring it to account for its military actions.

“Violations of international humanitarian law have been perpetrated by Hamas through its rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in southern Israel and the use of civilian facilities to provide protection for its terrorist attacks. There have also been numerous allegations made against Israel some of which are deliberately designed to inflame,” Rice said.

“We expect Israel will meet its international obligations to investigate,” she said.