"Governments collectively and individually paralyzed international institutions and squandered public resources in pursuit of narrow security interests, sacrificed principles in the name of the 'war on terror' and turned a blind eye to massive human rights abuses," Amnesty's Secretary-General Irene Khan said in a statement accompanying the report.

It urged the United Nations to address abuses in Darfur, where violence has killed more than 180,000 people and displaced 2.5 million since 2003. Many of the atrocities are blamed on the so-called Janjaweed, a disparate group of Arab militiamen allegedly backed by the Sudanese government.

"Intermittent attention and feeble action by the United Nations and the African Union fell pathetically short of what was needed in Darfur," Khan said.

Amnesty also urged Washington to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for full disclosure on prisoners implicated elsewhere in the "war on terror." It also asked for the UN Human Rights Council to insist on equal standards "whether in Darfur, Guantanamo, Chechnya or China."

It appealed for a change of strategy in Iraq, which it described as having sunk into "a vortex of sectarian violence."

"When the powerful are too arrogant to review and reassess their strategies, the heaviest price is paid by the poor and powerless - in this case ordinary Iraqi women, men and children," Khan said.

Amnesty has criticized U.S. President George W. Bush's approach to tackling international terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, complaining that hard-won human rights and civil liberties are being sacrificed in the name of stepped-up security.

Along with cases of abuse of prisoners in U.S. detention, the assault on rights makes it harder for Western countries to press other governments to clean up their rights record, Amnesty said. Countries such as Colombia and Uzbekistan used counterterrorism to justify the repression of opponents, the report said.

The increasing brutality of terrorist and militant attacks is a "bitter reminder that the 'war on terror' is failing and will continue to fail until human rights and human security are given precedence over narrow national security interests," Kahn said.

"We're working with your government to make [sure] that the identification cards that will be used between our two borders are compatible, not only with our needs but your needs," Bush told a Canadian in the audience. "We're working on it to make sure that whatever documents are needed will not be restrictive, but nevertheless (provide) information, I guess is the best way to put it."

Times have changed

New security arrangements were introduced in 2004 after the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. U.S. security officials have since come up with a proposal for high-tech identification cards that are scheduled for introduction on Jan. 1, 2008.

"I hope you can understand [why] our nation reacted the way we did after 9/11," Bush said. "We analyzed all aspects of our security. We said we were going to do everything we can within the law to protect ourselves."

Canada and several northeastern states have objected to the proposed security measures, saying they will hurt tourism, slow the flow of people and goods across the border and damage the economy of the border states.

Bush acknowledged that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has reservations about the plan. But he said Washington has different concerns about the Canadian border than it does about Mexico, where the U.S. intends to station National Guard troops starting in June.

Some observers said Bush's comments Monday were encouraging and could indicate the White House doesn't plan to stand in the way of whatever changes may be made by Congress, where several legislators are planning various amendments to the law.

Last week, the Senate passed an amendment to the law that would postpone the program until June 1, 2009, but officials on both sides of the border say it's far from certain whether that law will pass. In the meantime, both countries are working to the original deadline.

And Bush has considered modifying the regulations to permit use of normal passports, drivers' licences or birth certificates. But they would require extensive upgrades to include a technological marker like a fingerprint.

But while it's positive that Bush is focusing on the issue, deciding on what kind of ID will be acceptable is only part of the problem, said Scotty Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian American Business Council.

"It's how you implement the requirements. That's the bigger challenge," Greenwood said. "You need sufficient resources, staffing and technological infrastructure. Our busiest border crossings now are potential choke points. Until the law is changed or there's a plan to implement it, there's a problem."

AT&T, based in San Antonio, Texas, said Monday it is obliged to assist government agencies responsible for protecting the public, as allowed within the law.

The six plaintiffs, whose legal team includes lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, claim the telephone giant violated the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which prevents phone companies from releasing records to the government unless there is an emergency.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, seeks to include all Illinois AT&T customers as plaintiffs in a class action. The plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages.

"Having been blacklisted from working in television during the McCarthy era, I know the harm of government using private corporations to intrude into the lives of innocent Americans," Terkel said in a statement. "When government uses the telephone companies to create massive databases of all our phone calls it has gone too far."

Harvey Grossman of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois said the NSA program could interfere with the ability of lawyers to deal with their clients and doctors to communicate with patients.

The plaintiffs besides Terkel are Democratic Illinois state lawmaker Barbara Flynn Currie; Rabbi Gary Gerson of Temple B'nai Abraham Zion in Oak Park; Diane Geraghty, a Loyola University law professor; attorney James Montgomery, former corporation counsel for the City of Chicago; and Dr. Quinten Young, a doctor and advocate for health care reform.

The action follows similar lawsuits filed in other U.S. states.

The Bush administration has urged a judge to dismiss a similar case, saying it threatens to divulge state secrets and jeopardize national security. The government argued in briefs that the courts cannot decide the constitutionality of the president's asserted wartime powers to eavesdrop on Americans without warrants.