It is well known that the Haldane phase of a one-dimensional spin-1 chain is a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase, which is described by a nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) with a $\ensuremath{\Theta}$ term at $\ensuremath{\Theta}=2\ensuremath{\pi}$. In this work we study a three-dimensional (3d) SPT phase of a SU(2
N) antiferromagnetic spin system with a self-conjugate representation on every site. The spin-ordered N\'eel phase of this system has a ground state manifold $\mathcal{M}=\frac{\mathrm{U}(2N)}{\mathrm{U}(N)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathrm{U}(N)}$, and this system is described by a NLSM defined with manifold
M. Since the homotopy group ${\ensuremath{\pi}}_{4}[\mathcal{M}]=\mathbb{Z}$ for
N>1, this NLSM can naturally have a $\ensuremath{\Theta}$ term. We will argue that when $\ensuremath{\Theta}=2\ensuremath{\pi}$ this NLSM describes a SPT phase. This SPT phase is protected by the SU(2
N) spin symmetry, or its subgroup SU(
N)$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$SU$(N)\ensuremath{\rtimes}{Z}_{2}$, without assuming any other discrete symmetry. We will also construct a trial SU(2
N) spin state on a 3d lattice; we argue that the long-wavelength physics of this state is precisely described by the aforementioned NLSM with $\ensuremath{\Theta}=2\ensuremath{\pi}$.
Starting from the exact result of Majumdar and Ghosh (1969) for the dimerized ground state of a Heisenberg S=1/2 antiferromagnet with competing next-nearest-neighbour interaction J2+1/2J1 on a linear chain, it is shown that this state is the ground state of the same kind of Hamiltonian, if couplings are extended up to 2n-nearest-neighbours, and the relation J1=2n, J2=2n-1, ..., J2n=1 holds. Furthermore, it is proved rigorously that this state is the ground state when n=2 and J1-2J2+J3=0, J3=2J4, in a finite interval of values of the parameter J4. A rigorous lower limit for the extension of this interval is found to be 0<or=J4<or=1/4J1. A comparison with ground-state configurations of the equivalent classical Heisenberg and Ising model is discussed.