Protection International

Protection International is an international non-profit organisation focused on the protection of human rights defenders, including journalists, trade unionists, environmental advocates, anti-corruption activists, women human rights defenders, and LGBTI rights defenders. Its work is based on the principle that people who defend human rights should be able to carry out their activities safely and collectively, rather than being left to respond only after threats, attacks, or criminalisation have occurred. The organisation traces its operational history to the former European office of Peace Brigades International. That office began activities in 1998 and became an independent organisation under the name Protection International in October 2007. Its headquarters are in Brussels, and it has maintained permanent or structured presences in countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Colombia, Kenya, and Thailand. It also works in additional countries through local partners, temporary projects, training programmes, and international networks. Protection International's approach combines practical security management, organisational strengthening, psychosocial support, research, public advocacy, and engagement with national and international institutions. Rather than replacing state protection systems, it advises defenders and their organisations on analysing threats, reducing exposure to risks, preparing contingency measures, documenting abuses, and building collective protection strategies. It also seeks to improve the policies and practices of governments, diplomatic missions, parliaments, United Nations bodies, regional institutions, and other actors responsible for protecting civic space. The organisation's tools have included the Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders, training programmes, e-learning, protection desks, policy research, public seminars, video advocacy, and guidance on international standards such as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and European Union guidelines on human rights defenders. Its protection model also recognises the psychological effects of repression and seeks to incorporate psychosocial analysis into security planning. Its country and regional work has included training civil-society organisations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, supporting advocacy around attacks on journalists and defenders, monitoring legal and institutional protection measures, and assisting partners in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Regional structures launched in Africa, Mesoamerica, and South America have been intended to place more expertise and decision-making closer to the communities supported. Protection International has also participated in broader human-rights-defender initiatives. It was one of the organisations involved in the ProtectDefenders.eu consortium, the European Union mechanism for defenders facing serious risks. More recent activities have addressed misinformation and stigmatisation of human-rights advocacy, freedom of expression, public policy, cultural production, and international efforts to strengthen the UN framework on human rights defenders. The organisation remains an active civil-society actor rather than a commercial consumer brand, and its work is primarily delivered through grants, partnerships, training, research, advocacy, and direct accompaniment.

Protection International's roots lie in the European office of Peace Brigades International, known as PBI-BEO. The organisation's early work developed from international observation, accompaniment, and protection initiatives for people defending human rights in high-risk settings. In 1998, it organised a hearing in the European Parliament concerning the newly adopted UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, with testimony from defenders from Colombia and Guatemala. This helped connect practical field protection with European institutional advocacy. Between 1999 and 2002, the organisation arranged public seminars on international observation strategies for non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders in Europe. During the same period, it conducted security and protection training in countries across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The purpose was to help defenders and civil-society groups analyse threats, improve internal procedures, and protect both themselves and the communities they served. From 2003, the organisation increasingly engaged parliamentarians and public authorities. It assisted with initiatives concerning diplomatic monitoring of the situation of human rights defenders, including a Belgian parliamentary resolution adopted in 2003. Similar approaches were subsequently adopted in Germany and Spain. From 2004 onward, its field and advocacy activities expanded across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A protection desk operated in Nepal from 2006 to 2011, illustrating the organisation's preference for locally connected structures rather than purely remote advice. In October 2007, PBI-BEO separated from Peace Brigades International by mutual consent and formally became Protection International. The organisation was registered as an international non-profit association and developed a distinct institutional identity centred on long-term accompaniment, preventive protection, research, training, and advocacy for the right to defend human rights. Protection International published its Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders in 2009. It later issued research and practice-oriented material, including a 2011 publication on good practices and lessons learned in defender protection. E-learning became an important part of its work from 2011 onward. The organisation reported delivering extensive training and providing advice through permanent protection desks and partner networks. The Democratic Republic of the Congo became one of the organisation's significant country contexts. Activities included observation missions, seminars on European Union guidelines, training for civil-society organisations, advocacy with diplomatic and international actors, and scrutiny of cases involving attacks on journalists and defenders. Protection International also produced a documentary about the assassination of Pascal Kabungulu and advocated renewed examination of the trial concerning journalist Serge Maheshe. In 2009, it joined other organisations in urging Congolese authorities to address impunity after the killing of journalist Bruno Koko Chirambiza. The organisation broadened its institutional and policy work through initiatives such as the FOCUS Observatory on Public Policies for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, launched in 2013. It has also worked with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the United Nations system, European institutions, parliaments, diplomatic missions, and civil-society networks. Its activities have consistently combined direct support with efforts to improve the legal and political environment in which defenders operate. Protection International helped establish the ProtectDefenders.eu consortium, an EU-supported mechanism for human rights defenders facing grave risks. In 2019, Protection International Africa was launched in Nairobi. A Mesoamerica hub followed in Guatemala City in 2020, and a South America hub opened in Bogotá in 2022. These regional structures were intended to improve locally grounded support in Africa and the Americas. In the 2020s, Protection International expanded its work on misinformation, public narratives, freedom of expression, and cultural advocacy. It supported a poetry project with the University of York and ProtectDefenders.eu, contributed to a Colombia project addressing disinformation and stigma, and helped launch the VERIFICO platform. It also participated in a 2023 Mexico City seminar on the right to defend human rights and joined an initiative seeking to strengthen the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The organisation has additionally supported the documentary The Illusion of Abundance, which follows women seeking corporate accountability for environmental harm.

• 2022

  South America hub launched

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A regional hub opened in Bogotá to support work in South America.

• 2020

  Mesoamerica hub launched

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A regional hub was established in Guatemala City.

• 2019

  Protection International Africa launched

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The Africa structure was officially launched with its headquarters in Nairobi.

• 2013

  FOCUS Observatory launched

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A public-policy observatory was launched to monitor and promote effective state protection policies for human rights defenders.

• 2009

  Protection Manual published

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation published a practical manual on protection and security for human rights defenders.

• 2007

  Protection International formally established

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The former PBI-BEO office became Protection International after separating from Peace Brigades International.

• 2003

  Belgian parliamentary protection initiative

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Protection International assisted with a Belgian parliamentary resolution calling for diplomatic missions to monitor human rights defenders' situations.

• 1998

  European Parliament hearing on human rights defenders

  [1]Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation held a hearing involving defenders from Colombia and Guatemala concerning the newly adopted UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

A preventive, rights-based and collective protection partner for human rights defenders and their organisations, combining field support with research, advocacy, training, and institutional accountability.

• Publication and training tool · 2009

  Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders

  A practical resource explaining how human rights defenders and their organisations can identify threats, assess risks, develop security procedures, and build collective protection strategies. It reflects Protection International's preventive approach and is used alongside training and field accompaniment rather than as a substitute for local risk assessment.

• Field support service · 2006

  Protection desks

  Locally connected structures that provide advice, training, networking, and accompaniment to human rights defenders. Protection desks are designed to translate protection expertise into context-specific support and to connect defenders with partners, institutions, and advocacy channels.

• Protection and advocacy programme

  Global Protection Programme

  A broad programme combining protection capacity building, research, psychosocial perspectives, advocacy, policy engagement, and direct support. It seeks both to strengthen defenders' own protection strategies and to encourage authorities to meet their national and international obligations.

• Information and verification platform · 2023

  VERIFICO

  A jointly launched Colombian platform intended to identify and check false news and disinformation used to stigmatise human rights activists and community journalists.

• 2023New local narratives to combat misinformation and stigmatization

  Colombia

  A project with VerdadAbierta.com, supported by the European Union's Foreign Policy Instruments Service, addressing misinformation and hostile narratives directed at human rights advocacy and community journalism.

  Outcome. The project included the launch of VERIFICO, a platform for checking disinformation.

  Source
• 2023International Seminar for the Right to Defend Human Rights and Freedom of Expression

  Mexico

  Protection International helped organise a seminar in Mexico City from 17 to 19 May focused on defender rights and freedom of expression.

  Source
• 2022Human Rights Defenders Poetry Challenge

  International

  A cultural initiative conducted with the University of York and ProtectDefenders.eu that collected creative work relating to the experiences and work of human rights defenders.

  Outcome. The initiative resulted in a published poetry book.

  Source

• 2023

  Launch VERIFICOProduct launch

  Background

  Human rights activists and community journalists in Colombia faced misinformation and stigmatising narratives.

  Action taken

  Protection International and partners launched a platform for checking false news and disinformation.

  Source

• 2019

  Create Protection International AfricaStrategy

  Background

  The organisation sought to strengthen regional capacity and support for defenders across African contexts.

  Action taken

  Protection International Africa was launched with its headquarters in Nairobi.

  Aftermath

  The structure worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and other African projects.

  Source

• 2007

  Separate from Peace Brigades International and adopt the Protection International identityStrategy

  Background

  The former European Peace Brigades International office had developed a distinct programme of defender protection and advocacy.

  Action taken

  By mutual agreement, the office separated from Peace Brigades International and formally became Protection International.

  Aftermath

  The organisation continued the earlier protection initiatives while operating as an independent international non-profit association.

  Source

1. 1Protection Internationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Protection International official websiteprotectioninternational.org