Articles on the History of Human Rights
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Cooper-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3 (review of book that argues modern human rights date back only to the 1970s)
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=rights_versus_rites (American Prospect article on whether local traditions ever trump human rights)