The ‘silence’ of world leaders and IOC risks being interpreted as ‘tacit endorsement’ of human rights violation ‘perpetrated by Chinese authorities’, the rights group said.

Amnesty has also questioned the Chinese government's commitment to improve its human rights record in the run up to the 2008 Olympics, in a report released yesterday by the London-based human rights watchdog.

"The Olympic Games have so far failed to act as a catalyst for reform. Unless urgent steps are taken to redress the situation, a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics looks increasingly beyond reach," said Secretary General of Amnesty International Irene Khan.

In and around Beijing, the report said, the Chinese authorities have silenced and imprisoned peaceful human rights activists in the pre-Olympics 'clean up' and in Tibet and the surrounding areas, the crackdown on demonstrators has led to serious human rights violations in recent days.

"These actions cast doubt on whether the Chinese authorities are really serious about their commitment to improve human rights in the run up to the Olympics," Khan said.

China had promised to improve its human rights records to bag the games but Amnesty says the crackdown on activists has deepened and not lessened because of Olympics.