Work of Our Project Teams

At the invitation and request of communities and local organisations facing repression, Peace Brigades International (PBI) deploys trained teams of international volunteers to provide non-violent, protective accompaniment to human rights defenders who are threatened for their work. Our field projects safeguard space for courageous local actors — enabling them to continue defending land, culture, democracy, gender rights and justice — while strengthening the networks that protect them.

Since 1981, PBI has worked on four continents at the direct request of civil society partners, centring local leadership and autonomy at every stage. Our accompaniment strategy combines protective presence, political analysis and sustained advocacy, reminding potential perpetrators — whether state-linked or private actors — that the international community is present, informed and prepared to respond.

What Our Project Work Focuses On

Project work centres on five closely connected areas:

• Protective accompaniment – International volunteers provide direct physical presence beside defenders during daily activities, community processes, court hearings, territorial defence and public advocacy, acting as a visible deterrent to violence and repression.
• Building support networks – We convene and strengthen alliances, emergency alert networks and diplomatic relationships that defenders and communities can rely on for rapid international response when threats escalate.
• Raising the profile of those we accompany – Through education, media engagement, public events and regular reporting, we help ensure defenders are recognised, supported and harder to attack without consequence.
• Political analysis and sharing information from the ground – Project teams carry out ongoing, field-level analysis of the political and social context, sharing timely information about risks and trends that affect civil society.
• Peace building and education – We support non-violent peace building through human rights education, protection training, community exchanges and accompaniment strategies tailored to each territory and movement.

On request, our field projects provide protection, recognition and support to human rights defenders working in areas of repression and conflict. A highly visible physical presence alongside threatened defenders as they carry out their work is an integral part of our protection strategy. PBI field volunteers provide a visible reminder to potential perpetrators of human rights abuses that the world is watching and prepared to act.

Where PBI Works Today

Since 1981, Peace Brigades International has worked in eleven countries on four continents. At the request of local organisations and communities, our field projects and country groups provide protection, recognition and support to human rights defenders, communities and civil society groups working in areas of repression and conflict.

PBI currently maintains a permanent presence in:

• Colombia – Supporting Indigenous, Afro-descendant, campesino and urban defenders.
• Guatemala – Accompanying Maya and rural communities defending land, territory and justice.
• Honduras – Working with movements defending territory, gender rights and freedom of expression.
• Mexico – Supporting organisations confronting disappearances, impunity and extractive pressures.
• Indonesia – Strengthening protection and organisational safety in diverse and remote territories.
• Kenya – Supporting human rights defenders working on political, social and environmental justice.

Since 2020, PBI has also maintained an accompaniment project in Costa Rica focused on providing support to exiled Nicaraguan human rights defenders and social movements. PBI no longer has an office in Nepal, though the experience of past projects continues to inform our global practice.

Our Shared Commitment

Every PBI field project is grounded in local invitation, staffed by international volunteers trained in non-violence, and paired with national and international advocacy that strengthens the safety and legitimacy of courageous civil society leadership. Our work is protective, field-rooted, collaborative and forward-looking, ensuring that human rights defenders are not alone and that threats against them cannot happen in silence.