"Governments are betraying their promises on human rights. A new agenda is in the making with the language of freedom and justice being used to pursue policies of fear and insecurity. This includes cynical attempts to redefine and sanitise torture," AI secretary general Irene Khan said while releasing its annual report for 2004 here.

The report, which covers 149 countries, highlights the failure of national governments and international organizations to deal with human rights violations, and calls for greater international accountability.

The new agenda, combined with the indifference and paralysis of the international community, failed countless thousands of people in humanitarian crises and forgotten conflicts throughout 2004, she contended.

"The US, as the unrivalled political, military and economic hyper power, sets the tone for governmental behaviour worldwide. When the most powerful country in the world thumbs its nose at the rule of law and human rights, it grants license to others to commit abuse with impunity," Khan maintained.

"Four years after 9/11, the promise to make the world a safer place remains hollow," Khan added.

"Despite the US administration's repeated use of the language of justice and freedom, there is a huge gap between rhetoric and reality. This was starkly illustrated by the failure to conduct a full and independent investigation into torture by US soldiers in (Iraq's) Abu Ghraib prison and the failure to hold senior officers to account," she added.

Khan did not hold the US alone to blame.

"The televised beheading of captives in Iraq, the taking of over a thousand people hostage including hundreds of children in a school in Beslan and the massacre of hundreds of commuters in Madrid shocked the world. Yet, governments are failing to confront their lack of success in addressing terrorism and persisting with failed but politically convenient strategies," she maintained.

In its section on the Americas, the report said: "Respect for human rights remained an illusion for many as governments across the Americas failed to comply with their commitments to uphold fundamental human rights. Widespread torture, unlawful killings by police and arbitrary detention persisted. The US-led "war on terror" continued to undermine human rights in the name of security, despite growing international outrage at evidence of US war crimes, including torture, against detainees."

On Asia, it said: "Human rights played a prominent role in elections in the region. The influence of issues such as poverty, the "war on terror" and impunity on political agendas raised hopes of renewed focus on human rights protection. Yet large pockets of repression remained, in which violations of the right to life and of freedom of expression and association were widespread. Grave human rights violations continued to take place as armed conflict raged in northeast India, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province in Indonesia, and Nepal. A newly emerging conflict in southern Thailand raised concerns."

On the Middle East and North Africa, the report said: "Grave and multiple human rights violations, including the killing of hundreds of civilians in armed conflicts and political violence, continued with impunity throughout the region. Political and human rights reforms were debated at national and regional levels, with significant input from civil society groups, writers and journalists."

On Europe and Central Asia, the report noted that human rights "continued to be casualties in the  war on terror. Entrenched racism, discrimination and intolerance were seen in attacks on members of Arab, Jewish and Muslim communities, in interethnic violence, and in failures to afford dignity to people with mental disabilities. All too often, those responsible for human rights abuses such as torture and ill-treatment continued to enjoy impunity."

On Africa, the report said: "Armed conflicts continued to bring widespread destruction to several parts of Africa in 2004, many of them fuelled by human rights violations. Refugees and internally displaced people faced appalling conditions. There were international initiatives to hold perpetrators of abuses accountable. Across the region, there was discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, the vast majority of whom were denied the right to medical treatment. Political repression was widespread and human rights defenders came under attack. Pervasive violence against women was exacerbated by poverty and lack of access to health care and education."