PBI Global Teams Unite to Strengthen Protection for Human and Environmental Rights Defenders
Last week, staff from across PBI’s global protection teams convened in Mexico City for a vital Global Exchange on Defender Protection and Analysis.
In the face of escalating attacks from governmental, military, corporate, and criminal aggressors, this gathering provided a crucial space to share learnings, cutting-edge analysis, and effective strategies for protecting and empowering environmental and human rights defenders (EHRDs) in increasingly complex and dangerous contexts.
Key Outcomes and Collaboration
Protection experts from PBI’s field teams in Colombia, Costa Rica (covering Nicaragua), Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Indonesia, and Mexico, as well as colleagues from the International Secretariat and the UK office, joined forces. Together, they:
Mapped the Threats: Detailed the diverse stakeholders responsible for threats against defenders.
Identified Allies: Pinpointed current and potential partners to strengthen the protective network.
Shared Best Practices: Exchanged working methods and assessed the effectiveness of current protection strategies, directly informed by feedback from the activists and communities PBI supports.
Aligned on Strategy: Built strong bonds and shared tactics for local adaptation and effective implementation of PBI’s new Global Strategic Plan.
PBI’s UK Director, Ben Leather, reflected on the week: “The richness of analysis and the breadth of resources being developed and put to use by colleagues around the world truly blew me away. It’s an extremely challenging context out there right now, but both PBI and the defenders we work with are thinking outside of the box to keep defenders safe and ensure they make change.”
The Road Ahead: Scaling Up Protection Tools
A key component of PBI’s new strategy is to scale up and share proven methodologies and tools. The participants mapped out all the effective methods currently being used to protect and support defenders, making these essential protection tools available to as many environmental and human rights defenders as possible worldwide.
Innovative ideas verified by the activists themselves will now be fed back to local teams to inform on-the-ground strategies. At the same time, global planning and fundraising efforts will be geared toward implementing these proven protection measures effectively.
You can be part of this critical initiative to protect those who defend our world.
Donate to PBI: Help us fund the implementation of these proven protection methods.
Volunteer: Look into volunteering for our frontline teams and get directly involved.
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