Changes in regime do not affect Afghanistan's obligations under international law generally, nor under human rights law and humanitarian law. Afghanistan is still party to important international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. The government is bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, no governmental or administrative authority exists to ensure the protection of human rights enshrined in any international instrument. One massive human rights abuse has been the decimation of Afghan culture.
Afghan culture is a human rights victim of chaos and war.
Gone is the glue which held the fractious pieces of Afghanistan together. The revered codes of honour and respect have been obliterated. This is bad for human dignity because by its emphasis on respect, the traditional culture was a basis for the promotion of human rights and a foundation for rebuilding civil society. As the world observed the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the human rights system embarks on the 21st century, it is leaving Afghanistan behind. The people of Afghanistan were the last victims of the Brezhnev Doctrine.