Human Rights Watch slams US 'torture' in annual report

The New York-based monitor said the US strategy, as well as fuelling terrorist recruitment, had hampered Washington's ability to pressure other countries into respecting international law.

"Fighting terrorism is central to the human rights cause," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "But using illegal tactics against alleged terrorists is both wrong and counterproductive."

The watchdog also criticised US allies in the war on terror for undermining critical international protections, citing Britain for seeking to send suspects to governments likely to torture and Canada for moves to dilute a new treaty outlawing enforced disappearances.

The European Union was also taken to task for subordinating human rights in its relationships with others deemed useful in fighting terrorism, such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.

The annual report charged both Moscow and Beijing with exploiting the prevailing atmosphere to clamp down on political opponents by branding them "Islamic terrorists."

In its critique of US policy, Human Rights Watch dismissed the argument that cases of abusive interrogation could be put down to a small number of "bad apples" in the military when they were clearly "a conscious policy choice" by senior US government officials.