Governing Through Right Relationship: Reframing Laws and Policies

José Gualinga Montalvo, also known as Angun, is a leader of the Kichwa People of Sarayaku in the Ecuadorian Amazon. He currently serves as an advisor to the Tayjasaruta (Sarayaku Governing Council) and previously served as its president (Tayak Apu). He is the son of the late yachak (spiritual leader) Sabino Gualinga. José Gualinga authored the proposal for the Declaration of Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest), a central initiative in Sarayaku's defense of their territory as a living being, presented to the General Assembly of the ICCA Consortium in Montreal in 2018. In 2012, Sarayaku won a landmark case against the Ecuadorian State at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Robinson Pai, as a son of the jungle, has forged a path dedicated to the defense of life and the strengthening of the community organizational process. His work focuses on the survival of ancestral knowledge, integrating spirituality and medicine as pillars of cultural resistance, in which he has been guided by and has walked alongside traditional healers.

Throughout his journey, he supports internal organizational processes and promotes pedagogical initiatives to strengthen indigenous knowledge. His role is vital in coordinating cultural and community spaces, ensuring that the elders' wisdom is passed down to new generations in an exercise of autonomy and protection of the Katsa Su (Great Awá Territory). He serves as the liaison for the restorative project “Armonizándonos” (Harmonizing Ourselves), an initiative within the framework of the internal armed conflict of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) that seeks the comprehensive restoration of the Katsa Su and the Inkala Awá (People of the Jungle).

Originally from the La Brava Reservation, Mayo Humberto has dedicated his life to safeguarding traditional medicine. Since childhood, he has walked the territory alongside the elders of his people, formally beginning his training in ancestral knowledge at the age of fifteen. With a 55-year career in the practice of traditional medicine, he is a fundamental pillar of his community's living memory.

As a co-founder of the La Brava Reservation 36 years ago, his leadership has been key in the territorial consolidation of the Awá people under the structure of UNIPA (National Indigenous Unit of the Awá People). At 73 years old, he has completed three decades of uninterrupted service as a traditional healer, serving as a beacon of healing and wisdom. Currently, he is one of the spiritual authorities accredited before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) to represent the territory in its capacity as a victim of the Colombian internal armed conflict.

Pooven Moodley from South Africa is an international Human Rights and Environmental Lawyer, strategist, and visionary founder of the Earthrise Collective, dedicated to transforming law and governance to align with ecological and cosmic realities. He is Co-lead author for Chapter 2 of the landmark IPBES Global Assessment, which formally recognizes the pivotal role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in terms of their knowledge and conserving biodiversity and sustaining life on Earth.

Previously the long-time Executive Director of Natural Justice, Moodley has spent over two decades at the forefront of social and environmental justice. His work backs up Indigenous and local communities globally, securing land rights, protecting biocultural heritage and ecosystems, and challenging extractive economic paradigms.

Moodley’s profound insight lies in the evolution of law—from customary systems rooted in place, to contemporary human rights frameworks, and toward an emerging understanding of "cosmic law": principles of balance, reciprocity, and interconnection that govern all life. A trusted bridge-builder between ancient wisdom and global policy, he brings a rare combination of pragmatic legal strategy and deep philosophical vision.

At the Forum, he will share this wealth of knowledge, exploring how law can shift from an instrument of dominion to a covenant of care, essential for weaving a just and regenerative future.

Juliana Sepúlveda-Acevedo is a specialized professional at Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and a PhD candidate at the Universidad del Rosario, Colombia. She holds a Master's in Law, specializing in Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law, and was a scholarship recipient at the University of Oklahoma for studies in Native American Law. Throughout her career she has worked on the defense of the rights of Nature and Territory, supporting the first judicial rulings in Colombia that declared territory a victim of the armed conflict and contributing to the prosecution of environmental crimes within the JEP framework. She has extensive field experience in fundamental rights and armed conflict with Ethnic Peoples and rural and peasant communities.