The London-based human rights group called for action by the International Criminal Court to halt oppressive violence against women.
"Patterns of violence against women in conflict do not arise 'naturally' but are ordered, condoned or tolerated as a result of political calculations," its secretary-general, Irene Khan, said in introducing the 120-page report on women in war.
Not only are women "considered as the legitimate booty of victorious army", the report said, but "the use of rape as a weapon of war is perhaps the most notorious and brutal way in which conflicts impact on women".
"Women's bodies, their sexuality and reproductive capacity are often used as a literal battleground," it said.
Khan, the first woman, the first Asian and the first Muslim to head Amnesty International, said in an interview that "it's quite interesting to see that women's rights have been used as justification for military intervention, in the cases of both Iraq and Afghanistan".
But, she added, "on the ground the situation changes very little in favor of women... In the case of Afghanistan we have seen no improvement.
"Warlords are occupying parts of the territory and see women as commodities for trading, to settle land disputes. Abductions and forced marriages are about as bad, if not worse, than at any time in Afghan history.
"Warlords are not being pulled out, they're not being prosecuted and they're not being investigated for the crimes that they are openly committing."
Even where women are not deliberately targeted, they are the main victims of so-called collateral damage, whether caused by "precision" bombing or land mines, the report said.
"In Iraq in 2003 US forces reportedly used more than 10,500 cluster munitions containing at least 1.8 million bomblets. An average failure rate of 5 percent would mean that about 90,000 unexploded munitions are now on Iraqi soil."
The report urged the International Criminal Court to "pick up and prosecute one or two high-profile cases because that will send the message that violence against women cannot continue in such an impunity, which is the norm today".
The court, headquartered in The Hague, began operating in July 2002 and is mandated to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Kahn acknowledged the way ahead would be tough, but said she hoped the report would generate pressure for change.
Women and children make up 80 percent of the world's 40 million refugees, but they have no voice, and injustices go unpunished, she added.
© 2004 Agence France-Presse