The global state of human rights is grim and violations in South Africa are on the rise.

This was the message delivered by Amnesty International Southern Africa director Deprose Muchena at the launch of its annual report in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The worldwide human rights watchdog's global report documents human rights successes and failures in 160 countries and found that police brutality, violence against foreigners and intimidation of the public prosecutor were the most prominent threats to human rights in South Africa in 2014.

Amnesty International researcher Dr Mary Rayner said that government needs to implement a systematic top-down approach to curb violence against foreigners.

Last year, in the space of just four months, 1600 foreigners were displaced in seven of South Africa's provinces due to violence, the report says.

According to Rayner, no one has been successfully prosecuted for attacks on refugees since 2008.

The report also found that Angola, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe are among the countries in Southern Africa where the suppression of dissent is most prevalent.

In light of this, Muchena called on Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, who also currently heads the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), to up his efforts in guarding human rights across the region.

Last year in Zimbabwe, activists engaging in peaceful protests were reportedly tortured while in police custody. The country adopted a new constitution in 2013, but has failed to align its laws accordingly, the report says.

Muchena also urged the AU to stop avoiding accountability and withdraw its attack on the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Last year several African states, backed by the AU, challenged the ICC to seek immunity from prosecution for their leaders who had been accused of committing international crimes.

The report also found that in the year under review:

• War crimes were committed in at least 18 countries;

• Armed groups, like Boko Haram, committed abuses in 35 countries;

• 62 governments locked up prisoners of conscience;

• 3 in 4 governments arbitrarily restricted freedom of expression, some with crackdowns on the press;

• 78 countries have laws which criminalise consensual sex between adults of the same sex;

• 93 countries conducted unfair trials; and

• 131 of the countries tortured or otherwise ill-treated people.