Backlash against human rights
Since the military action by the USA, UK and their allies began in Iraq on 20 March, a backlash against certain human rights has been witnessed around the world. These include:

attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly;
excessive use of force by police against anti-war demonstrators;
restriction of asylum rights.

USA: "Operation Liberty Shield", announced by the US Department of Homeland Security on 17 March and which is already being implemented, mandates the detention of asylum-seekers from Iraq and at least 33 other, as yet unnamed, countries that arrive in the USA and seek asylum at the point of entry. The policy allows the immigration authorities to detain "for the duration of their processing period" such asylum applicants "from nations where al-Qa'ida, al-Qa'ida sympathizers, and other terrorist groups are known to have operated," according to a Department of Homeland Security statement. In effect, this presumes guilt by association and does so on the basis of nationality. The policy does not cover people whose cases are pending or those who arrive in the USA and apply for asylum after entry, but it offers no discretion and no assessment of the circumstances of individual detainees.
Amnesty International Australia, post-March 20 2003