Environment Minister Catherine McKenna had stressed late Wednesday how “critically important” it was to include strong language that recognizes human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

The latest draft, coinciding with “human rights” day at the summit, kept and enhanced language that now appears likely to remain. A final agreement is still scheduled to land Friday.

Such fundamental rights, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights exactly 68 years ago in this city, had emerged as a touchy subject. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Tanzania sought to push the issue to the margins while others, including Canada, urged that it be given more prominence.
The new text arrived hours after release of a United Nations report calling climate change the “most pervasive threat” humanity has ever faced.

Available at: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/12/10/indigenous-rights-highlight-day-11-of-the-paris-climate-change-conference.html