End of Year Update
PBI UK’s activities and impact
In the six months since our last newsletter, PBI UK has supported several human rights defenders from around the world to mobilise action in support of their cases and causes. Together, we've stepped up our campaigns for a stronger UK policy to protect defenders, as well as a law to ensure that UK businesses prevent abuses and environmental destruction in their supply chains.
We've raised money and recruited volunteers for our protective Front Line Teams around the world, and worked with Dundee University to welcome five at-risks activists to the Scotland for respite and training. You can find more information on these and other initiatives below. Thank you for your support!
Campaigning with defenders for stronger UK policy
Last week a cross-regional group of human rights activists headed to Parliament to call on MPs to ensure the UK puts in place effective policies to engage and protect defenders. This followed the publishing of a briefing paper by PBI and 46 other organisations, urging all political parties to put support for human rights defenders at the core of their foreign policy promises ahead of the next General Election.
In the week of the 75 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, PBI arranged a round table for defenders to meet with allies from human rights and environmental NGOs, legal institutions and philanthropic organisations. The activists were also able to attend the Foreign Office's human rights day event, where defender Claudia Samayoa from Guatemala used her speech to make an impassioned call to action.
A number of Parliamentarians have since taken action to support the defenders they met with and call on the Government to do more to protect defenders and tackle the root causes of the risks they face.
Back-to-back defender visits galvanise support
In the past six months, PBI UK has coordinated advocacy tours to London for five activists who receive protection and support from PBI's Front Line Teams, as well as another five who are participating in the Scottish Human Rights Defenders Fellowship - a respite and empowerment scheme of which PBI UK is an Advisory Board member. Visitors included:
Melissa Martinez Reyes - Honduras
In October Melissa Martinez Reyes, of the Honduran Black Fraternal Organisation (OFRANEH), visited London to call on the UK government to pressure Honduras to comply with Inter-American Court rulings and respect Garifuna rights to collective property of their ancestral land. Melissa was also able to build civil society support for Afro-descendant communities which have faced reprisals and remain threatened by the imposition of large tourism projects.
Read more about the struggle of the Garifuna community here and an interview with Melissa here.
Reinaldo Villalba Vargas - Colombia
Human rights lawyer Reinaldo Villalba Vargas visited the UK in November to urge the Government to work closely with human rights defenders towards the Colombian government's 'Total Peace' policy. He also gained commitments from experts in international human rights law to support his groundbreaking case against the former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, using universal jurisdiction in Argentinian courts.
Read more about this case, and Reinaldo's work, in our our interview here.
Naomi Barasa - Kenya
Last week, Naomi Barasa - an award winning human rights defender - visited the UK to advocate in parliament, take part in a roundtable with NGOs, and engage with the FCDO. During the roundtable, Naomi shared what needs to change to improve international funding and solidarity, and to ensure that the right kind of support reaches and empowers grassroots civil society and women defenders.
Read more about the week's activities here.
Guatemala: International lawyers and Indigenous leaders call for action at a critical time
Guatemala is at a tipping point. Following the victory of progressive candidate Bernardo Arévalo in recent Presidential elections, the country's vested interests are doing everything they can to thwart democracy and prevent him from taking office. At the forefront of the social movements defending rights and democracy are the country's Indigenous communities.
To a backdrop of widespread abuses of Indigenous rights, PBI UK has coupled international human rights lawyers from around the world with rural communities in Guatemala. In October, these lawyers launched “We are not trespassers: this is our land” - Agrarian conflict and Indigenous peoples’ rights in Alta Verapaz - a report documenting the forced displacements of Indigenous communities, and making a series of recommendations to uphold Indigenous rights to ancestral land and end the criminalisation and evictions characterising the country’s agrarian conflict.
They were joined by Lesbia Artola and Sandra Calel, Indigenous defenders who receive protective accompaniment from PBI's Front Line Team in Guatemala. We were incredibly lucky to be able to hear directly from Lesbia and Sandra at the report launch, and to support their advocacy in the UK and EU. PBI has subsequently supported the report's launch in Washington D.C., and worked with Guatemalan and international organisations to successfully advocate for action from US, UK and EU governments, legislators and diplomats.
Read the report
Find out more about our launch event
Read our interview with Lesbia and Sandra
A new film and opportunities to be a field volunteer!
In November we were excited to launch our new short film, "In the Company of Hope". The film shares what it means to be a PBI field volunteer supporting the incredible work of human rights defenders around the world. Some of our Front Line Teams are opening windows for volunteer recruitment. Find out more about what it means to be a PBI volunteer, and see if you feel inspired to explore the incredible opportunity to make a difference, here. Upcoming volunteer opportunities include:
Annual Report 2022-23
If you haven't had a chance yet, please check out our 2022-23 Annual Report! It highlights the remarkable work carried out by the human rights defenders we work with around the world, and the role PBI UK plays in keeping them safe and supporting their efforts. Read the full report here.
Other exciting news updates
We raised an amazing £15,315 through our Big Give Christmas Challenge which will receive matched funding - thank you to everyone who donated!
We were delighted that, OFRANEH - who we accompany in Honduras - won an award at the 2023 Human Rights and Business Award at the annual United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in November. Read more here.
We met with colleagues and human rights defenders from around the world at our Global Visionary Workshop in November. This kicks off a process to review PBI's Global Strategic Plan, which should conclude next autumn. Part of our vision includes initiatives to support more defenders in more places - sharing methodologies and tactics for security and advocacy.
In 2023, PBI UK channelled record funds to PBI's Front Line Teams, allowing them to train defenders in risk management, wellbeing and digital security; to implement strategies to dissuade State and non-State actors from attacking defenders; and to provide holistic protective accompaniment to those on the front lines of environmental and human rights change!
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