Photo: PBI-Canada and PBI-Honduras meet with the CNTC union in Tegucigalpa to discuss research topics of interest to them, March 2026.
The Peace Brigades International-Canada Research Unit (PBI-CRU) was launched in June 2025 as part of our longstanding commitment to the holistic protective accompaniment of human rights defenders.
The intent of this research unit is to generate information to connect the corporations, banks and pension funds located in the Global North with the companies involved/complicit in the attacks on the organizations, defenders and communities we accompany in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, in order to strengthen our advocacy efforts and overall protection strategies.
Context
We work within the context that:
-There were 790 business-related attacks against human rights defenders in 2025 (Business and Human Rights Centre/BHRC).
-53 human rights defenders who spoke out about business-related harms were killed in 2025 (BHRC).
-The Americas remain the most dangerous region for human rights defenders in 2025: 165 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia, 43 in Mexico, 13 in Honduras, and 10 in Guatemala (Front Line Defenders).
-The perpetrators of the killings of the 358 human rights defenders in 2025 are largely unknown; 159 of the killings were committed by unknown actors; 196 were allegedly committed by state and non-state actors (Front Line Defenders).
-There were 5 extra-judicial killings of workers and their representatives in the Americas, with 3 killings documented in Mexico, 2 killings in Colombia, and 1 forced disappearance in Mexico (International Trade Union Confederation).
Research articles
We have published: Network Against Anti-Trade Union Violence remembers the trade union commitment of Juan López in Honduras (April 2026). Prior to that, we posted (and have reposted within other articles): Research on the ownership structure of the Los Pinares megaproject in Honduras (June 2025).
We have published: PBI-Canada congratulates the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya as ICSID arbitration panel rejects claim by US mining company (January 2026). Prior to that, we had posted (and reposted in multiple articles) the links between this struggle and a Canadian mining corporation: Research on the involvement of Vancouver-based Radius Gold in the La Puya mine in Guatemala (September 2025).
We have published: Colombian environmental defender Jani Silva continues to face threats, highlights need to improve Protection Mechanism (December 2025). We have a research paper ready for publication that links the risk of environmental harm in the Amazon region to a Vancouver-based mining company and the upcoming PDAC mining convention in Toronto in March 2027.
We have published: Despite documented rights violations, Mexican military to attend the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa (May 2026). Prior to this, we had posted: Research on the links between Canadian companies and the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (September 2025). The Mexican military, including the Army, Navy and National Guard, has been implicated in multiple incidents of attacks against human rights defenders opposed to this megaproject.
We have also developed research to strengthen various articles and build collaboration with accompanied organizations, including: Initial research survey on the inclusion of union activists in Protection Mechanisms for human rights defenders and journalists (January 2026); PBI-Guatemala accompanies REDSAG and the Pajales Sis community council on tour; observes damage by local sugar mill to river (May 2026); PBI-Canada notes CESPAD report that cites use of military equipment in eviction of CNTC union members in Honduras (May 2026); and PBI-Colombia accompanies Nomadesc at ceremony in Yumbo for those killed in the National Strike, including Kevin Anthony Agudelo (May 2026).
Amplification
We have also sought to amplify research produced by other organizations, including: International Trade Union Confederation: “Northrop is a serial violator of consumer and labour protections” (April 2026).
Collaboration
And for the first time ever, we wrote a chapter in the Annual Federal Budget (AFB) 2026 published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). The soon-to-be published AFB Defence chapter includes analysis and a series of recommendations based on a human rights and peace-building perspective.
Next steps
In the coming year we hope to continue to collaborate with other Peace Brigades International entities in the identification of priority research areas, the publication and amplification of that research, and to integrate that research more fully into advocacy and accompaniment strategies.
We acknowledge the support of the Unifor Social Justice Fund in enabling the formation, continuation and further development/strengthening of the Peace Brigades International-Canada Research Unit (PBI-CRU).
