Amnesty says that the choice should not be between invasion or inaction, ethnic cleansing or bombing - more effort should be put into prevention work.

In Saudi Arabia, safeguards against the use of confessions gained under torture were lacking

Amnesty report

The report says this prevention work meant ensuring that economic sanctions do not lead to the violation of socio-economic rights, such as in Iraq.

"[In Iraq], the rights of children deprived of food and basic medical supplies seem to carry no weight on the international agenda," the report says.

Torture

It also criticises several European countries for their human rights record, focusing on Russia and its military campaign in Chechnya.

Amnesty says Moscow appeared to be pursuing a campaign to punish an entire ethnic group and displayed a blatant disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law.

France was also criticised for a failure to punish abuses by police in their handling of suspects in detention.

Amnesty report

Extrajudicial executions were confirmed or suspected in 38 countries, compared to 47 in 1998 In Afghanistan children were assigned to the task of displaying the severed limbs of victims of judicial amputations 132 countries where torture was used on prisoners by police or security forces

In the UK, the government came under fire for its treatment of refugees, and its introduction of a new law described by the report as being "severely detrimental to refugee rights."

The report also says the number of countries practising torture and conducting unfair trials of political prisoners is rising.

Amnesty says the continuing conflicts in Sierra Leone, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo had resulted in atrocities against thousands of civilians.

Women vulnerable

Some of the worst atrocities, including the mutilation of women and children, were blamed on the main rebel group in Sierra Leone.

Saudi Arabia is again the target of strong criticism for what the group describes as its appalling human rights record.

It condemned the 103 executions during 1999 and what it described the climate of secrecy and fear, which it says permeates every aspect of society.

Also in the Middle East, the report says torture continued to be permitted in Israel and was systematically used until last September, when the Israeli High Court ruled that such methods of interrogation were unlawful.

Amnesty says torture and ill-treatment remained endemic in Egypt, and has resulted in the death of some detainees.

The vulnerable position of women in much of South Asia is also highlighted, particularly in Pakistan, where the report says abuse of women is part of a wider picture of arbitrary arrests and torture.

China is accused by the group of the most serious and wide-ranging campaign against peaceful dissent for a decade, with thousands of people sentenced to death.