HR activists suffering in war on terror

They said fundamental rights enshrined in UN law were "regularly trampled" around the world, including in many long-standing democracies.

"Such violations have always existed, of course, but the trend today is to justify them in the name of defending other values which are also part of the rule of law, such as freedom and democracy," they said in a statement.

In particular, they said, such violations were noted "in the framework of the international campaign against terrorism."

The criticism came in the annual report compiled jointly by the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights and in Geneva, the World Organisation Against Torture.

Last year, 1,154 human rights activists and more than 200 non-governmental organisations were targeted by "acts of repression" in 90 countries, according to the report.

The number brought to the attention of an observatory set up by the groups was a "doubling" of cases from the previous year, revealing "the deteriorating situation of human rights defenders, and thus, the erosion of human rights in the world."