THE LIVING CONVENTION VOLUME I

The Living Convention Volume I is a guide that aggregates disparate international laws, declarations, and voluntary guidelines into a structured compendium. It focuses on the rights of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants, categorizing them into substantive rights (such as land tenure, food sovereignty, and cultural heritage) and procedural rights (such as free, prior and informed consent and access to justice). The document aims to democratize international law to empower these groups in negotiations, litigation, and the management of their social-ecological systems.

• The document identifies a systemic 'procedural injustice' caused by the inaccessibility of international law, which prevents Indigenous peoples, local communities, and peasants from having clarity on their rights and responsibilities.
• Substantive rights for these groups include the right to self-determination, allowing them to freely determine their political status and pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development.
• Indigenous peoples possess specific rights to the lands, territories, and resources they have traditionally owned, occupied, or used, and States are obligated to provide legal recognition and protection for these areas.
• The right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a critical procedural standard, requiring States to consult and cooperate in good faith with Indigenous peoples before adopting measures that affect them.
• Peasants and rural workers have a recognized right to food sovereignty, which includes the right to define their own food and agriculture systems and access healthy, culturally appropriate food produced through sustainable methods.
• International standards protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities to maintain, control, and protect their traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices, particularly those relevant to the conservation of biological diversity.
• The document emphasizes the right to a healthy environment and the necessity of protecting environmental human rights defenders, noting that their security is linked to the security of their communities.
• Procedural rights include the right to access environmental information, participate in decision-making, and access justice, as established in the Aarhus Convention.
• The compendium highlights the right of Indigenous peoples to be free from forced assimilation and the right to revitalize their cultural traditions, languages, and histories.
• Regarding climate change, the document asserts that peasants and rural workers have the right to contribute to the design and implementation of national and local adaptation and mitigation policies.
• The document advocates for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, based on mutually agreed terms.
• The text establishes that Indigenous peoples should not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories without FPIC and agreement on just and fair compensation.

APA

Natural Justice (2020). THE LIVING CONVENTION VOLUME I. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Living-Convention-Vol-I.-Compendium-3rd-edition-2020.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. THE LIVING CONVENTION VOLUME I. 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Living-Convention-Vol-I.-Compendium-3rd-edition-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=THE LIVING CONVENTION VOLUME I |date=2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Living-Convention-Vol-I.-Compendium-3rd-edition-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2020living, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{THE LIVING CONVENTION VOLUME I}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/The-Living-Convention-Vol-I.-Compendium-3rd-edition-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }