The emergence of a new model of criminal accountability and of the Responsibility to Protect norm has signaled the change within human rights policies. In addition to new actors within human rights – private actors such as rebel groups and firms – the scholarship on human rights has evolved to include quantitative studies besides previously dominant approach of comparative case studies. This paper reviews the state of the art on human rights and traces the evolution of its scholarship. Afterwards, recognizing the growing influence of the areas of limited statehood on commitment and compliance within human rights, this paper discusses the new agenda for human rights.