Protective accompaniment is the core of PBI’s work: trained international volunteers physically accompany human rights defenders and organisations at risk, offering a visible, international presence that deters violence. This presence communicates to potential perpetrators that the world is watching—through embassies, governments, international institutions, NGOs, and global civil society. For defenders, accompaniment provides safety, recognition, and the ability to continue their vital work.

Protective accompaniment is effective because decision-makers behind attacks rarely want: international scrutiny, diplomatic pressure, reputational damage, negative media exposure. PBI volunteers act, in the words of one description, as “unarmed bodyguards” whose presence mobilizes the protective power of international attention.

Alongside physical presence, PBI teams: build emergency response networks; brief diplomats and decision-makers; monitor human rights conditions; raise the visibility of accompanied organisations; provide peace education and capacity-building; document threats, risks, and patterns of repression. All of our work is grounded in non-violence, political non-partisanship, and direct requests from the people we accompany.