President Donald Trump's policies mark "a new era of human rights regression" in the United States and around the world, but are helping to inspire new activists, Amnesty International says.

"Trump's backward steps on human rights are setting a dangerous precedent for other governments to follow," the rights group said in an annual report.

It said Trump and other leaders - including Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping - "are callously undermining the rights of millions."

"The transparently hateful move by the US government in January to ban entry to people from several Muslim-majority countries set the scene for a year in which leaders took the politics of hate to its most dangerous conclusion," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty's secretary general.

"We saw the ultimate consequence of a society encouraged to hate, scapegoat and fear minorities laid bare in the horrific military campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in Myanmar," Shetty said.

Shetty accused the international community of a "feeble response" to reports of severe human rights abuses in Myanmar, Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

"Governments are shamelessly turning the clock back on decades of hard-won protections," he said.

The report said the Trump administration "scored poorly on women's rights, publicly supported torture, (and) attempted to take healthcare coverage away from millions."

It also "undermined the media, equivocated on white supremacy, discriminated against transgender individuals, and is considering loosening restrictions on the export of small arms."