PBI at 40
In 1981, a group of international activists came together to create a movement for peace, solidarity and non-violent action. Inspired by non-violent activism across the world, including the movement spearheaded by Gandhi in India and the Civil Rights movement in the United States, Peace Brigades International aimed to support the peaceful transformation of societies in conflict through dialogue and the progressive fulfilment of human rights.
While our core mission remains the same, we have adapted our tactics to ensure human rights defenders are protected despite the rapidly changing global context and ever-evolving risks and threats they face. 40 years on, PBI remains convinced of the vital role human rights defenders play in strengthening democracy, upholding the rule of law, and protecting our shared environment. Together, through their protection, we can create a more peaceful and just world.
Today, we look back over the past 40 years, acknowledging our roots and appreciating our role in the international peace movement. We remember with huge gratitude all of those who have passed through PBI in different capacities and recognise the contribution of so many volunteers and staff members to our movement.
1981
Building on a ‘rich and extensive heritage of nonviolent action’, and with the goal of creating an 'international organisation committed to unarmed third party intervention in conflict situations, Peace Brigades International is founded during an inaugural meeting on Grindstone Island, Canada.
See more information on some of our founding members: Lee Stern and Murray Thompson and read more about the founding of PBI
GUATEMALA: General Efrain Rios Montt seizes power after a military coup
NICARAGUA: US-sponsored attacks by Contra rebels based in Honduras begin; state of emergency declared
1983
PBI installed its first team in Guatemala during a period of intense state terror and repression. PBI’s work quickly focused on protecting victims and nascent nonviolent organisations confronting government violence. Read more about PBI's history in Guatemala
Amidst an escalation of violence, PBI deploys 10 volunteers to Jalapa, Nicaragua, near the Honduran border, interposing themselves between US-backed contras and Sandinista forces in order to deter hostilities. This work was eventually taken over and continued by Witness for Peace. Read about JoLeigh Commandant, who participated in the peace vigil.
SRI LANKA: Civil war begins
GUATEMALA: Peace talks begin between the government and rebels of the Guatemalan Revolutionary National Unity
1985
PBI pioneers international protective accompaniment with leaders and activists of the Mutual Support Group for Families of the Disappeared (GAM), some of whose leaders had been brutally assassinated by State agents. Read more about GAM's history
1987
At the invitation of Lutheran Bishop Medardo Gomez, PBI began working in El Salvador. Most of the work consisted of providing international protective accompaniment to threatened popular organsations and regular visits to villages of returned refugees. Read about PBI's work in El Salvador from 1987-1990
Central American Peace Accords negotiations begin
1988
Returning British volunteer, Bué Alred, takes up the challenge of developing PBI UK. A meeting of the European country groups is called to which an open invitation was put out for anyone in the UK interested in the work of PBI to attend. Apart from Bué, three turn up.
1989
A PBI team was installed in Sri Lanka during some of the worst violence between government forces and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP). PBI accompanied lawyers working on behalf of disappeared people and their families, religious leaders threatened due to their reconciliation work, and grassroots movements. Read more about PBI's work in Sri Lanka
PBI UK set up their first office in Bradford.
Fall of the Berlin Wall
1990
While the PBI team's work was interrupted in 1989 due to harassment by the Armed Forces, it was able to re-deploy in El Salvador in 1990 with the strong backing of the international community, including members of Parliament and Congress from Switzerland, Canada, Spain, the United States, Italy, Sweden, France and Germany as well as religious communities, international organizations, and labour unions.
See our first Annual Report published in 1990 with details on our activities across the world.
See the full 1990 Annual Report here
HAITI: Military coup
European Union forms under the Maastricht Treaty
1992
PBI opens a project in Canada to respond to conflicts in and around indigenous communities following confrontations between Mohawk warriors and the Canadian Army near Montreal, Quebec. The project's work involved supporting dialogue and reconciliation, training local human rights monitors, and carrying out anti-racist education in Canada.
We accompany Tshaukuesh (Elizabeth) Penashue, an Indigenous rights activist from Labrador - read more about Penashue's work and life
THE BALKANS: UN-monitored ceasefire
1993
In response to increasing military violence after the 1991 coup in Haiti, PBI joins the "Cry for Justice" Coalition, led by Pax Christi USA, and including the Fellowship of Reconciliation, Christian Peacemaker Teams and a dozen other organisations. 75 international volunteers were deployed to Haiti in late 1993 to provide a short-term peaceful presence in six different towns suffering from high levels of violence.
1994
After receiving requests from civil society organizations, in particular Father Javier Giraldo of the organization Justicia y Paz, and following an exploratory mission in 1993, PBI opened a project in Colombia with offices initially in Bogota and Barrancabermeja. Read about the exploratory work that led to the opening of PBI Colombia
PBI joined the Balkan Peace Team International, a coalition of mostly European organisations that set up teams in Croatia, Servia and Kosovo to provide support to local human rights and nonviolence efforts, foster dialogue among civilian groups and link local peace organisations working in different part of former Yugoslavia. Learn more about the work of the Balkan Peace Team
MEXICO: Zapatista uprising
1995
PBI joins SiPaz, a coalition of over 40 international organizations set up in 1995 in response to growing violence following the Zapatista uprising in 1994 in Chiapas, Mexico. The coalition disseminates information on the conflict situation, provides accompaniment to local activists, and organises peace education workshops to strengthen the capacity of local organisations. This work is continued today by the International Service for Peace (SiPaz).
With the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristade in Haiti, a PBI team offered training in nonviolent conflict resolution with the aim of establishing a network of Haitian trainers to continue the work in a country devastated by years of tyranny and military rule.
THE BALKANS: End of the war
1996
1996 was a year of political instability in Colombia and increased risk and criminalization for human rights defenders. PBI accompaniment helped ensure that lawyers from the Restrepo Lawyers' Collective (CCAJAR) could continue their work in Colombia despite the high level of risk. Find out more about PBI's accompaniment to CCAJAR
NEPAL: Civil war begins
1997
The Peace Community of San José de Apartadó was founded in the Urabá Antioqueño region of Colombia in 1997 in the midst of armed violence, forced displacement, and the murder of its leaders. It rejects the presence of all armed actors in its territories. Although stigmatization, threats and defamation continue to this day, the Peace Community has managed to establish a certain deterrence against armed actors thanks to the recognition of its project at the international level. The peace community continues to be an inspiring alternative model of non-violent community life to this day. PBI has accompanied the peace community since 1999. Read more about the Peace Community
Liam Mahony and Luis Enrique Eguren publish "Unarmed Bodyguards” - showing the success of PBI’s concept of accompaniment.
Susi Bascon takes on the role of PBI UK Director.
1998
PBI was told that if it wished to continue working in Sri Lanka it would have to submit its reports to the authorities to be censored prior to their publication. This demand was not compatible with PBI’s mission, so the project was closed. Read about George Lakey’s time as a PBI volunteer in Sri Lanka
Following the worsening of the human rights situation in Mexico and requests from local civil society organisations, PBI opens a project.
Colombian paramilitaries murder seven local inhabitants and disappeared another 25 people who had been taking part in a community fundraising event in Barrancabermeja (Santander). The victims and their families are still seeking justice, represented by the PBI-accompanied José Albaer Restrepo of the Lawyer's Collective Corporation (CCAJAR). Read more about the Barrancabermeja Massacre and the work of CCAJAR
UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders recognises the importance and legitimacy of their work
1999
The Guatemalan Peace Accords were signed, ending more than 30 years of civil war. Following the signing of the Peace Accords and a subsequent reduction in the number of human rights violations and accompaniment requests, PBI decided to close its project.
Following an increase in attacks on human rights organisations, PBI opened a new office in Medellin, Colombia to accompany the Association of Family Members of the Detained Disappeared (ASFADDES), the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners (CSPP), the Grassroots Training Institute (IPC), and the Corporation for Legal Freedom (CLB). Read more about PBI's work in Medellin from 1999-2011
2000
Following invitations by Indonesian humanitarian and non-governmental organisations, PBI opened its first team in South-East Asia, in West Timor. PBI teams in Jakarta, Aceh, and in Wamena and Jayapura, Papua accompanied local human rights organisations and along with local partners carried out peace education workshops to build capacity for conflict transformation among local leaders, students, NGOs, officials and faith groups. Read more about PBI's work in Indonesia between 1999-2011
PBI focuses initial accompaniment efforts in the State of Guerrero, Mexico, where there was little international attention despite widespread human rights violations. One of the early accompanied organisations in Guerrero was the 'Tlachinollan' Human Rights Centre, which documents human rights violations, and carries out advocacy, outreach, education and strategic litigation of human rights cases. "PBI arrived in Guerrero at a critical moment of State violence”
2001
PBI brings together over 90 speakers, facilitators activists and interpreters to reflect on its approach and the challenges facing the human rights movement and civil society organizations working to promote peace and nonviolence in areas of conflict. Read excerpts from presentations at PBI's 20th-anniversary conference.
PBI is the first organisation to receive the Martin Ennals Award. The Foundation described PBI volunteers as "epitomising the expression of international concern and support for human rights defenders on the frontline". Leer más sobre el premio Martin Ennals
International Day of Peace is designated by the UN as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
2002
The early 2000s saw a rise in urban violence in Colombia, despite peace negotiations between the government and the FARC-EP. Hundreds of civilians were injured, killed and disappeared during armed clashes between the FARC-EP and the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (UAC) and between other legal and illegal armed groups, as well as the military. PBI accompanied organisations such as the Corporation for Judicial Freedom (CJL) at a time when they were the only organization documenting cases in Comuna 13, Medellin. Read more about the work of CJL
2003
Following a deterioration of the human rights situation, PBI once again began receiving accompaniment requests from Guatemalan civil society. Exploration was carried out in 2001 and a team re-opened in 2003. Listen to the Democracy Now! interview about PBI's work in Guatemala
PBI began accompanying Tita Radilla in Mexico, vice-president of the Mexican Association of Relatives of the Detained, Disappeared and Victims of Human Rights Violations (AFADEM). Tita’s father, Rosendo Radilla Pacheco, had been forcibly disappeared in Atoyac, Guerrero in 1974. Tita and other family members faced attacks and threats due to their work seeking justice for their loved ones. Learn more about PBI's accompaniment to the AFADEM
2005
On 21st February 2005, eight people from the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, in north-west Colombia, were massacred, including three young children and community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra. More information on the Peace Community
2006
Following requests from human rights organisations due to conflicts between Maoist insurgents and the government, PBI launched a project in Nepal. An initial team of 5 volunteers was based in Kathmandu and provided protective accompaniment to local human rights organisations. Read more about PBI's work in Nepal from 2006-2013
In Mexico, The Organization Familia Pasta de Conchos (OFPC) was created, following a disaster in Mine 8, in the Pasta de Conchos Unit, which was located in the San Juan Sabinas municipality -65 miners were trapped and subsequently died. As a result, their family members came together to demand the recovery of their bodies – to date only two bodies have been recovered. See more about the Organisation Pasta de Conchos
NEPAL: Civil war ends with the signing of peace accords
2007
Protection International is registered as an international not for profit association by Pascale Boosten, Marie Caraj, Enrique Eguren and Christoph Klotz. PI becomes the legal successor of the former EU Office of Peace Brigades International. Find out more about the work of Protection International
In Kenya, political, economic, and humanitarian crises erupt after former President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election. More than 1,100 people were killed, and up to 500,000 displaced. Read ‘Ballots to Bullets’.
2008
Following the violent eviction of a sit-in by members of a teachers union from the centre of Oaxaca City, Mexico, social conflict broke out in Oaxaca. Between 2006-2007, numerous human rights violations were documented by civil society organisations, including arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance. PBI participated in two civil observation missions to the state during the conflict, and in 2008 opened a permanent team in Oaxaca. Read about the opening of PBI's team in Oaxaca
2009
In February, two Indigenous leaders of the Organization for the Future of the Mixteco People (OFPM), Mexico were forcibly detained during a public act at which local authorities were present. 10 days later, their bodies were discovered with visible signs of torture. PBI accompanied their lawyers, from the 'Tlachinollan' Human Rights Centre, due to the increase in threats and harassment they received following the assassinations. Read about the situation facing HRDs in southern Mexico
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules in favour of Tita Radilla, Ines Fernandez Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantu, in three historic cases involving abuses committed by the Mexican armed forces, opening the door to key reforms to the military justice code demanded by victims and human rights organisations. Read 'Mexico Before the Inter-American Court'
Human rights defenders, among them the founder of DH Colombia, lawyer Jorge Molano, denounce state policy to spy on human rights defenders, which was gravely affecting their guarantees to carry out their work, and their personal security.
HONDURAS: Military coup
2010
Two years after the Constituent Assembly Elections and four years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Maoists and ther political parties in Nepal, the human rights situation in the country remains a challenge.
David Ravelo, a recognized human rights defender in Barrancabermeja and founding member of CREDHOS Colombia, is arrested, accused of being the mastermind of the 1991 murder of a local public official, a crime he denies.
Arab Spring
2011
PBI marks its 30th anniversary with a series of conferences and events organized in Germany, Spanish State, Switzerland and the UK which brought together human rights defenders, activists, decision-makers, academics, UN officials and members of the public. Topics ranged from the criminalization of HRDs; to the risk of defending land and environmental rights - coinciding with the creation of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights; to critically evaluating existing protection frameworks, such as the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and the Un Declaration on Human Rights. Read more about PBI's 30th anniversary in our 2011 annual review
Following receipt of a number of requests for PBI presence from African countries, in 2009 PBI formed a working group to evaluate the diverse protection needs of HRDs in Africa and the potential for PBI's model to be effective in supporting their protection. Kenya was eventually selected for more in-depth field exploration, and the Kenya Project Exploratory Committee is established. Read the report on PBI's exploratory mission to Kenya
Following years of demands by Mexican and international civil society, the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists was approved by the Mexican legislature and signed by then-President Felipe Calderon. The law was championed by the Civil Society Space for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists (Espacio OSC), accompanied by PBI.
COLOMBIA: Peace negotiations between the FARC and the Government begin
2012
PBI publishes testimonies of women defenders actively involved in promoting dialogue and creating spaces for peace within the violent context of Mexico. See more in the publication "Dignas"
2013
PBI opens the Kenya Project following extensive field and desk-based research into the human rights situation in the country and the needs of defenders. The project provides capacity development and accompaniment to HRDs working in Nairobi's urban settlements as well as organizations carrying out electoral monitoring, working to end gender-based violence, and those working for police reform, among other issues. Find out more about our work in Kenya
Following the coup d'état that took place in Honduras in 2009 and a worsening of the human rights situation, PBI received requests for international accompaniment from the Honduras Platform on Human Rights. PBI formally opened a project in Honduras following the 2013 election, which was marked by a deterioration in the human rights situation in the country and the killing of HRDs. Read the report on PBI's exploratory missions to Honduras
Together with the Collective Campaign for Peace Network (COCAP), PBI launches the Nepal Monitor Project. Its mission is to work with and for civil society activists and HRDs to increase their protection and maintain or expand the political space available for their work in favour of peace and human rights in Nepal. The human rights and security incident reports mapped on the site are distributed via e-mail and text message alerts to the members of a network of over 200 Human Rights organizations and individuals across Nepal, who are nearest to the incidents. Learn more about the work of nepalmonitor.org
Following requests from civil society and an exploratory mission carried out to diverse regions in Mexico, PBI opened an office in the north and expands its accompaniment to HRDs in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua. Read 'A Panorama of the Defense of Human Rights in Mexico'
Former general and de facto President of Guatemala from 1982-1983, Jose Efrain Rios Montt is convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, and sentenced to 80 years in prison. Read a letter of concern written by PBI Guatemala.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights finds the Colombian State guilty of the mass forced displacement of afro-descendant communities resulting from 'Operation Black September' and 'Operation Genesis'. More than 70 people were murdered or disappeared during the subsequent militarization of the Lower Atrato. PBI accompanied lawyers from the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission, who brought the case to the Inter-American Court. Read more about the consequences of 'Operation Genesis'
2014
PBI commemorates thirty years of accompaniment in Guatemala.
Following discussions with civil society organizations and other stakeholders, PBI once again began working in Indonesia in partnership with the Institute of Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM). The project promotes human rights in Indonesia by providing capacity development to Human Rights Defenders in remote areas, with a focus on their ability to document human rights abuses, advocate with the Indonesian government and internationally, and build their personal security and protection networks. Read more about PBI's current work in Indonesia
Inspired by the Humanitarian Zones that were formed in regions such as Curbaradó and Cacarica in Urabá and accompanied by the Interchurch Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP), the first Humanitarian Space within an urban context was implemented in Buenaventura, Colombia. These Zones are a community initiative that allow people to continue living in their territories, despite the dangers caused by the dynamics of the armed conflict. PBI accompanies different Humanitarian Zones across the country, supporting the community's rejection of any armed actor within the territory.
PBI celebrate 10 Years of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders - built on the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Guidelines were created in 2004 to recognize the specific risks faced by HRDs and the role of EU bodies, Member States and Missions to protect, support, and reinforce the work of HRDs in third countries. PBI had long advocated for the EU to take stronger action to protect and support at-risk HRDs. Read 'Ten Years of the EU Guidelines on HRDs: An Assessment from the Field
43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College were forcibly abducted and disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero, in southern Mexico. PBI accompanies the 'Tlachinollan' Human Rights Centre, which provides legal support to the family members of the disappeared students.Read the report of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts
2015
PBI begins supporting activists from Arcoíris LGTB Association of Honduras. Despite the risks they face, Arcoíris has been committed to empowering, informing and challenging discrimination and stigmatisation against the LGBTI+ community in the most dangerous country in Central America for members of the gay and lesbian community. Read more about Arcoíris
2016
Berta Cáceres Flores, a Honduran environmental activist, Indigenous leader, and co-founder and coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) is assassinated in her home by armed intruders in 2016, after years of threats against her life. She won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015, for "a grassroots campaign that successfully pressured the world’s largest dam builder to pull out of the Agua Zarca Dam" at the Río Gualcarque. In the wake of Berta's killing, PBI accompanies the coordinators of COPINH due to the ongoing risks they face in their search for justice for Berta and to uphold the rights of the Lenca people. More information about PBI's accompaniment to COPINH
PBI Kenya develop a Women Human Rights Defenders Toolkit which offers resources and recommendations to help address the specific challenges of grassroots Women HRDs. A network of grassroots WHRDs from three of Nairobi’s urban settlements (Kibera, Mathare and Mukuru) work as toolkit organizers to help disseminate and further develop the toolkit.
Following the investigation of 2009 accusations by human rights defenders of state-led spying on human rights defenders, various members of the Colombian state intelligence agency are called to trial for illegal wire-tapping (“chuzadas”) and surveillance of journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and members of congress who were in opposition of Álvaro Uribe Vélez’s government. See more on the "Chuzadas" scandal
Following years of negotiation, the Colombian government and the FARC-EP signed a peace agreement, ending the decades-old armed conflict that took the lives of thousands of Colombian civilians and resulted in large scale internal displacement, disappearances and other human rights violations. All of the organisations PBI accompanied were involved in the Peace Process which promised an end to the 60 years of bloodshed. Read 'The Role of Victims in the Peace Processes'
PBI publishes graphic novel about the history of the project and the organisations and individuals it accompanies in Colombia.
Signature of the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance
2017
Following a number of requests from exiled HRDs, and recognizing the multitude of challenges they faced, PBI Kenya undertakes a series of workshops to consider mechanisms through which international organizations and institutions could better support them.Read the report: Enhancing Support for Exiled HRDs in Nairobi
David Ravelo, human rights defender and founding member of CREDHOS Colombia is released on parole, pending the decision from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) regarding his request that his case is transferred from the ordinary justice courts to this special transitional justice tribunal. Read more about David Ravelo.
2018
To mark the anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, PBI brings together HRDs from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia to exchange experiences and knowledge about holistic protection. This meeting allowed us to analyse global tendencies and identify the common risks faced by and needs of human rights defenders.
Spontaneous social protests break out in Nicaragua in response to unpopular reforms to the university and social security systems. These took place against the backdrop of prior electoral irregularities and a number of constitutional and legal reforms that increasingly concentrated political power in the hands of the executive - particularly Daniel Ortega and his wife and Vice President, Rosario Murillo.
Hundreds of people are injured, killed and arbitrarily detained during the protests. A subsequent report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) for Nicaragua concludes that the State's response was disproportionate and that it committed serious and systematic human rights abuses in its response to the protests.
Guatemalan Indigenous land and environmental defender Bernardo Caal Xol is sentenced to seven years four months in prison for the crimes of illegal detention and aggravated robbery. This, despite evidence provided by his lawyers throughout the judicial process that Caal Xol was not in the location of the crime at the time it was committed. Bernardo Caal Xol from PBI Guatemala on Vimeo.
2019
To mark World Press Freedom Day, Honduran journalist and human rights defender Dina Meza talks to PBI about media freedom and the work of independent journalists in Honduras. See more about Dina Meza and ASOPODEHU
Growth of social movements around the world; from environmentalists to feminists, people from different countries, different ages and different worldviews were actively vocal and engaged in building vibrant democracies. This wave of activism is an important reminder of the power of collective action and conviction.
2020
Following the political crisis in 2018, PBI begins an accompaniment project for Nicaraguan organisations and civil society groups living in exile in Costa Rica. The project provides capacity development for exiled HRDs, from psychosocial support to organizational strengthening and security and protection strategies, focusing on improving their conditions and building resilience for an eventual return to Nicaragua. See PBI's campaign "Defending human rights has no borders"
In preparation for the Universal Periodic Review of Honduras, PBI prepares a report on the situation for human rights defenders in the country and lays out recommendations for the Honduran State on issues ranging from the recognition of the important role played by HRDs to the implementation of prompt, diligent and impartial investigations in cases of attacks committed against them. Read 'Defending the Land has a Woman's Name'
In August 2020, in a historic ruling for Colombia, the successor to the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior are condemned for the threats, kidnapping and systematic psychological torture that journalist Claudia Julieta Duque was subjected to at the hands of the defunct DAS from 23 July 2001 to April 2010. The ruling comes after the journalist filed a lawsuit in 2012 for the illegal actions against her for her journalistic work and investigation of the crime of the humourist and comedian Jaime Garzón. PBI has accompanied Claudia in her active human rights defence work as a journalist since 2010. See more about Claudia Julieta Duque´s work
International solidarity became commonplace as global interconnections were felt more strongly than ever. In the face of a devastating global pandemic, inequalities are exacerbated and individuals and communities around the globe rise to meet new human rights challenges.
2021
Entering into force on Earth Day, the Escazú Agreement regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters is a groundbreaking treaty between Latin America and Caribbean countries. It is the first human rights treaty that protects and prioritizes people's rights to information, participation, justice and security in environmental matters, based on Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Read 'The Escazú Agreement, a necessary tool'
Despite the existence of a governmental protection mechanism for HRDs and journalists, high levels of risk still exist in Mexico. Civil society has repeatedly called on the Mexican government to implement holistic protection policies which address the root causes that generate risk, and to improve resourcing and coordination of the mechanism. Read 'Turning the Tide on Impunity’
