PBI’s Vision, Mission & History

Peace Brigades International is a global movement of activists seeking justice and peace, standing in solidarity with threatened human rights defenders worldwide. Our aim is to protect and support these brave individuals and organisations; strengthen their physical, digital and political security; and enhance wellbeing through non-violent intervention. PBI adapts its approach to changing global risk contexts and the lived constraints of frontline defenders.

Peace Brigades International (PBI) envisions a world where conflicts are addressed non-violently, where human rights are protected, and where social justice and intercultural respect guide collective life.

PBI opens space for peace by supporting individuals and organisations who defend human rights through non-violent means. We respond only to local requests for accompaniment, with an unarmed civilian presence that deters violence through international visibility and political observation. Our teams encourage state and non-state actors to respect human rights, and protect those advancing social change.

• We deploy only on community request
• We remain unarmed, civilian and non-partisan
• We deter violence through visibility, networks and observation

PBI’s model of non-violent, third-party international intervention grew from decades of experimentation across peace brigades and non-violent movements in India. In 1981 on Grindstone Island,PBI was formally founded as a permanent organisation capable of deploying trained volunteers into conflict zones at the request of local civil society.

The founding commitments:

• Preventing violence through international presence
• Supporting local non-violent initiatives
• Acting as unarmed civilian peacekeepers
• Maintaining consensus-based, non-hierarchical organisational structures

PBI’s first field accompaniment team was deployed to Guatemala during a period of extreme state terror. In Guatemala, PBI pioneered round-the-clock protective accompaniment alongside organisations including the Mutual Support Group for Families of the Disappeared (GAM), contributing to movement survival in a context where social movement leaders were routinely assassinated.

Over time, PBI expanded globally, responding to requests from civil society facing criminalisation, militarised violence, intimidation and attacks by state and non-state actors. PBI continues to accompany defenders in multiple countries, adapting its tools to emerging escalation risks while remaining grounded in non-violence and international solidarity.

PBI Canada is part of the global movement and collaborates closely with field accompaniment teams, PBI country groups, local partners and international bodies. We sustain field work through advocacy, research, communications, recruitment and fundraising.

In Canada, PBI:

• Recruits, trains, and supports Canadian volunteers for field teams
• Shares urgent updates and political analysis on human rights conditions
• Conducts advocacy with Parliamentarians, and embassies
• Builds international pressure to deter attacks
• Hosts public events, workshops, and produces educational materials
• Publishes stories from the frontlines
• Fundraises to maintain rapid-response accompaniment capacity

PBI Canada is led by a board of directors, a small staff team, and a nationwide group of volunteers and supporters.

PBI Canada is supported through:

• Individual donations
• Foundations and granting bodies
• Faith and community organisations
• Partnerships with civil society groups
• Project-specific contributions from institutions

Our supporters include individuals, organisations, and communities across Canada who believe in non-violence, human rights, and international solidarity. Their contributions enable PBI to maintain a protective presence alongside defenders around the world.