THE LIVING CONVENTION

The Living Convention is a compendium of internationally recognised rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities. It uses an 'integrated rights approach' to bundle disparate legal provisions from human rights, environmental, and cultural law into a single, accessible resource. The document categorises these into substantive rights (such as land tenure and cultural integrity) and procedural rights (such as free, prior and informed consent), aiming to democratise international law for the stewards of biocultural diversity.

• The document employs an 'integrated rights approach' based on the concept of Traditional Resource Rights (TRRs), which views rights as 'bundles of rights' that link cultural and biological diversity.
• International law is critiqued for being fragmentary, often compartmentalising interdependent social-ecological landscapes and conflicting with the collective property systems of customary law.
• The compendium distinguishes between substantive rights, which are norms creating legal protections or obligations, and procedural rights, which are the mechanisms that make those substantive rights operational.
• Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is identified as a critical procedural right across multiple domains, including land, waters, natural resources, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge.
• Indigenous peoples' rights are often based on ancestral roots and historical continuity, whereas the rights of 'local communities' in international law are generally contingent on their lifestyles being 'relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity'.
• The document highlights a dichotomy between 'hard law' (binding treaties and customary international law) and 'soft law' (non-binding, aspirational norms), noting that the legal weight of Conference of the Parties (COP) decisions is often ambiguous.
• The compendium asserts that Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition and enforcement of treaties and agreements concluded with States.
• The text argues for a shift toward a 'right to responsibility,' where legal recognition supports the roles of Indigenous peoples and local communities as responsible stewards of their territories.
• The guide identifies the need for 'equitizing' the law to provide marginalised communities with better conditions to influence policy planning and implementation.
• The document lists specific protections against forced assimilation and the right of Indigenous peoples to maintain and develop their own political, economic, and social systems.

APA

Jonas, H., Makagon, J. E., & Shrumm, H. (2013). THE LIVING CONVENTION. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Living-Convention.pdf

Chicago

Jonas, Harry, J. Eli Makagon, and Holly Shrumm. THE LIVING CONVENTION. Natural Justice, 2013. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Living-Convention.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jonas |first1=Harry |last2=Makagon |first2=J. Eli |last3=Shrumm |first3=Holly |title=THE LIVING CONVENTION |publisher=Natural Justice |date=May 2013 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Living-Convention.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jonas2013living, author = {Jonas, Harry and Makagon, J. Eli and Shrumm, Holly}, title = {{THE LIVING CONVENTION}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2013}, month = may, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Living-Convention.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }