Amnesty: World Powers Main Rights Violators

Amnesty International has accused powerful states of enabling torture and other human rights violations in the world by putting their political interests before international law.

"Too many perpetrators are getting away with some of the worst crimes known to humanity," said Claudio Cordone, the interim secretary general of Amnesty International, the New York Times reported.

In its yearly report released Thursday, Amnesty International detailed abuses in 159 countries, torture in 111 countries, curbs on free speech in 96 countries, unfair trials in 55 countries and prisoners of conscience in 48 countries, in 2009.

The 420-page report stated that 81 nations, including the United States, China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, are refusing to sign up to the International Criminal Court.

"They undermine the court," by refusing to sign up, Cordone said.

More than hundred nations have so far signed onto the court.

In a warning about unrelenting violations against human rights, Amnesty also accused world powers of inducing fear and hunger in millions of people around the world.

The report, meanwhile, also cited forced evictions of people from their homes in Africa, abuse and exploitation of millions of migrants in Asia-Pacific countries, namely South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia, as well as a rise in xenophobia and racism in Europe and Central Asia.