PBI’s UK Director Ben Leather lays out why, without environmental defendes, the climate crisis cannot be solved. This piece looks at the people who put their lives on the line to protect the ecosystems our entire civilisation depends upon, and how PBI protects them.

"We are the eyes of the world."

In a world where speaking the truth can be a death sentence, Peace Brigades International provides a life-saving shield, standing shoulder to shoulder with human rights defenders. This film explores our mission to support, protect and empower human rights defenders through unarmed accompaniment.

From environmental activists to Indigenous leaders and women human rights defenders, we stand in solidarity with those on the front lines of the world’s most pressing struggles so they can make lasting change.

A brief overview of how PBI’s model of physical and political accompaniment has turned the tide for human rights defenders globally.

In our latest report and fanzine, Peace Brigades International (PBI) and the ALLIED Network (Alliance for Land, Indigenous and Environmental Defenders) share the results of a deep-dive investigation into how communities in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Amazon are fighting back.

Supported by Peace Brigades International (PBI), these two courageous women travelled to the UK in December 2025 to amplify their urgent demands for justice, corporate accountability, and the fundamental right to protect their homes from destruction.

A look back at our 2025 victories and a first look at PBI’s roadmap for a challenging year ahead.

At a time when the targeting of those bravely defending human rights and the environment has reached crisis point, the UK Government’s new guidance on supporting human rights defenders suggests a worrying disengagement.

Ahead of International Human Rights Defenders (9th December) and International Human Rights Day (10th December), PBI UK welcomed two Indigenous women human rights defenders to the UK: Claudia Ignacio Álvarez, a Purépecha woman from Michoacán, Mexico, and Lia Yewen, a Miyah woman from West Papua.

On Human Rights Day, Peace Brigades International was proud to join the FCDO’s commemoration event, where Claudia Ignacio Álvarez, a Purépecha Indigenous human rights defender from Michoacán, Mexico, shared her powerful experience and perspective.

Today on Human Rights Defenders Day, two Indigenous women human rights defenders from Mexico and West Papua are in the UK calling for stronger government action to protect frontline land and environmental defenders and to ensure UK-linked companies are held accountable for harms connected to their operations and supply chains.

PBI UK was deeply honoured to welcome two extraordinary Indigenous women human rights defenders to London for our flagship public event, An Evening with Women Defending Land & the Environment at LUSH Studio Soho. The evening brought together supporters, journalists, legal professionals and NGOs to hear directly from defenders whose voices are too often marginalised or silenced.

Last week, staff from across PBI’s global protection teams convened in Mexico City for a vital Global Exchange on Defender Protection and Analysis.