Human rights abuses are fuelling the rise of extremist groups such as Isis in Syria and Iraq and Nigeria’s Boko Haram, campaigners have warned.

Human Rights Watch’s 25th annual report says that many governments around the world have reacted to the threat from Islamist militants and terrorists by downplaying or abandoning human rights.

Below is a snapshot of the scale of human rights abuses around the world.

The group’s executive director, Kenneth Roth, said some political leaders “appear to have concluded that today’s serious security threats must take precedence over human rights. Human rights violations played a major role in spawning or aggravating many of today’s crises,” he said. “Protecting human rights and ensuring democratic accountability are key to resolving them.”

The report points to military crackdowns in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and China – but also to the US, where the use of torture has been well documented, but nobody has been prosecuted.

Britain, too, risked trampling on human rights, Mr Roth added. “British intelligence, GCHQ, immediately seized on Charlie Hebdo [the shootings in Paris] to justify its request for more surveillance powers,” he said.

The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 most conflicted countries in the world The 10 most conflicted countries in the world South Sudan The world's newest country is also the least peaceful nation in the world, according to the 2014 Global Peace Index The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Iraq The rise of Isis in the country has led to much unrest and violence, with thousands displaced from the minority Yazidi sect The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Somalia The nation has been fraught with civil war and famine. Most recently the military have been fighting Islamist insurgents Al-Shabaab Getty Images The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Sudan Since the country divided into two, there has been continuing unrest. This year the Sudanese army and rebels engaged in heavy fighting near the city of Kadugli Getty Images The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Central African Republic The nation has endured a violent civil war since 2012. Last year the government fell to rebels and the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation in the country was precarious Reuters The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Democratic Republic of the Congo Civil wars have kept this country high in the ranks as one of the most conflicted places on the globe Getty Images The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Pakistan Political corruption and instability have dogged Pakistan, as have conflicts with India over the disputed Kashmir region Getty Images The 10 most conflicted countries in the world North Korea Despite its secretive nature, the Communist state has ended up as one of the most conflicted nations in the world due to internal problems Reuters/KCNA The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Russia Russia has annexed Crimea and been accused by the West of arming rebels who have taken over parts of eastern Ukraine - which has led to the ongoing conflict Reuters The 10 most conflicted countries in the world Nigeria Since 2002 the militant Islamist movement Boko Haram has caused much violence in the country in a bid to establish Sharia law and abolish the secular government. This year the terrorist group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls, leading to international criticism of the government's lack of action Getty Images

Human Rights Watch said Isis had not appeared “out of nowhere”. It explained: “In addition to the security vacuum left by the US invasion of Iraq, the sectarian and abusive policies of the Iraqi and Syrian governments and international indifference to them have been important factors in fuelling Isis.