Huge challenges confronted the international human rights movement in 2003. The UN faced a crisis of legitimacy and credibility because of the US-led war on Iraq and the organization's inability to hold states to account for gross human rights violations. International human rights standards continued to be flouted in the name of the 'war on terror', resulting in thousands of women and men suffering unlawful detention, unfair trial and torture - often solely because of their ethnic or religious background.Around the world, more than a billion people's lives were ruined by extreme poverty and social injustice while governments continued to spend freely on arms. This Amnesty International's report reflects those challenges. It documents the human rights situations in 155 countries and territories in 2003, and summarizes regional trends. It reports on areas of work being prioritized and developed by Amnesty International - such as violence against women; economic, social and cultural rights; justice; and protection of refugees and migrants - and celebrates the achievements of activists in these and other areas.