A handful of countries were blocking human rights references in important parts of the climate change agreement…Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the United States have been criticized by some countries and nongovernmental organizations for seeking to eliminate key references to rights in the document. “The draft text…sets out a commitment by countries to respect human rights…” said Joe Amon, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch. “However, some countries are seeking to remove these references…from Article 2, the purpose section of the agreement.”…[G]roups including trade unions and coalitions representing indigenous peoples, women, youth, and people in small island nations have been particularly vocal in calling for strong rights language in the treaty…Nongovernmental groups have pointed out that…the inclusion of strong rights language in the purpose of the agreement reinforces the understanding that addressing climate change is not only about protecting the planet, but also the people living on it…