Peace Brigades International USA

PBI is a proud member of the Women Human Rights Defender International Coalition whrdic.bsky.social

Today marks the start of #WHRDAdvocacyWeek in Geneva. Twelve women human rights defenders are here to advance Indigenous Peoples’ rights, climate justice, and environmental protection.

This week high level meetings kick off at the UN General Assembly in NYC-marking the 80th bday of the UN, UN Climate Week, a High-Level Conference on Palestine & a two-state solution. Visit bit.ly/4mwuWoT for the human rights concerns that PBI teams & defenders are raising @ this year’s sessions.

Today @globalwitness.org released their annual report on attacks on environmental defenders. Figures show 80% of land defenders killed or disappeared last year were in Latin America (120), w/ Colombia accounting for ~ 1/3 of the global total (48 of 146). Read the full report - gwitness.org/4mfM5Tu

PBI is Recruiting Field Volunteers to our Teams in Mexico & Guatemala! Applications for Mexico are due Sept 15, 2025 & for Guatemala, Oct 5th!

👉 Apply TODAY to stand alongside human rights defenders in:
🇲🇽 Mexico: bit.ly/41epoHQ
🇬🇹 Guatemala: bit.ly/45y5vgl

Read more on our website @ bit.ly/4oywjWe

PBI stands in solidarity w/ peaceful protesters in Nepal demanding justice & we reaffirm our support for all who are committed to defending fundamental freedoms, justice, & human rights in Nepal. Their voices are vital to a vibrant democracy. Read our full statement @ bit.ly/4nlevMP

Violent crackdowns on protestors in Kenya involving enforced disappearances underscore the profound sacrifices HRDs make. Today we recognize the suffering of victims & affirm the urgent need for greater state action & accountability to end enforced disappearances. Read more here. shorturl.at/VQQIA

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our 2025 Flash Fundraising Drive! We ended Day 3 with $4,396 raised or 22% of our goal. Our work is too important to stop now. Our 3-Day flash fundraiser is now PBI-USA’s 30-Day Fiscal Yearend Fundraising Drive …. EXTRAVAGANZA! Donate TODAY @ bit.ly/45MjChX

It’s the third & final day of our 2025 Flash Fundraising Drive! Have you donated to PBI yet? Your donations help support the work of PBI not only in the U.S. but also in Colombia, Costa Rica/Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, & Nepal. Donate TODAY @ givebutter.com/pbiusaflash

It’s Day 2 of our Flash fundraiser, our effort to raise funds to support PBI’s work under a new strategic plan focused on ensuring PBI’s sustainability & making PBI more inclusive & responsive to the complex realities faced by defenders. To support us in this work, donate today! bit.ly/45MjChX

Today PBI-USA kicks off our 2025 Flash Fundraising Drive with a goal to raise $20,000 in just 3 days & we need your help! Are you Team East Coast or West Coast? Pick the team member of your choice and let's see what our collective efforts are able to achieve! Donate @ bit.ly/45MjChX

The growing disconnect between Kenyan political leaders and the citizens they serve, marked by a failure to listen, engage, and prioritize public interest, raises deep concern. Dive deeper into this and more in PBI Kenya’s 2025 Second Quarter Newsletter. mailchi.mp/peacebrigade...

Since Trump has taken office, his administration has taken daily actions that impact the work of PBI both at home and abroad and threaten the rights of U.S. citizens as well as non-citizens who are within the U.S., whether legally or not. Read more at: pbiusa.org/en/news/trum...

✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼On Int’l Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we stand in solidarity with all who are fighting for equity, justice, and self-determination.

At PBI-USA, we are committed to the ongoing work needed to end racial discrimination both within our orgs & within our countries. #EndRacism

On Wednesday, a federal judge denied a request by USIP to stop the takeover stating it was difficult to determine whether DOGE’s actions were lawful & whether USIP, which works to prevent violent conflicts abroad, is an independent agency or part of the executive branch. pbiusa.org/en/news/us-i...

The flag of Israel flying in the wind

The bombardment of Gaza by Israel is criminal & barbaric. Palestinian human rights defenders report more than 400 people killed in just 10 hours, including children, spreading terror. All states must work to end the violence immediately. There must be accountability.

The #US must immediately release Palestinian rights-activist Mahmoud Khalil & stop threats of deportation against foreign residents:
UN experts sound warning about escalating US Government crackdown on student activism & censorship of pro-Palestinian voices.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

⚖️ Yesterday, PBI-Honduras awaited the verdict in the case against 13 people in the Black, English-speaking community of Diamond Rock, Roatan. PBI is concerned about criminalization processes against Afro-Honduran & Garifuna communities who defend their ancestral territories against tourist projects.

Reminder - Apply to our team in Colombia by April 6, 2025! Learn more at PBIUSA.org.

Significant layoffs in USAID offices around the world and the funding freeze have already seriously affected the U.S. delivery of humanitarian aid in Colombia and elsewhere.

oig.usaid.gov/sites/defaul...

www.reuters.com/world/americ...

Yesterday, PBI joined w/ women human rights defenders around the world to honor the women on the frontlines, fighting for justice in their communities, often at great personal risk. Learn more about these brave women @ pbiusa.org.

#IWD2025 #WomenOnTheFrontlines #HumanRights
#internationalwomensday

Israel Not Complying with World Court Order in Genocide Case The Israeli government has failed to comply with at least one measure in the legally binding order from the International Court of Justice, in South Africa’s genocide case.

Israeli authorities are violating the International Court of Justice’s legally binding orders in South Africa’s genocide case by denying the entry of lifesaving aid and services into Gaza.

Ceasefire or not, Israel is obligated legally as the occupier to facilitate entry of aid.

⏰ PBI Honduras is seeking ex-volunteers with work experience with PBI in Latin America to join our team on the ground starting April this year. The time period we need to cover is between 3 and 6 months. Applications are due by March 9th!

👉Learn more details here: pbi-honduras.org/es/%C2%A1inv...

🕊️“Nicaragua has become a place of surveillance & enforced silence for those who remain, while those who dare to resist … face a life of statelessness & exile,” said Reed Brody, a member of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua.

🔗 View their latest report at
bit.ly/3XkV1gJ

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the commemoration of the National Day of Dignity of the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict. Of the 200,000-plus victims identified by the Historical Clarification Commission, 83 percent were Indigenous Maya: pbicanada.org/2025/02/26/p... #PBIaccompanies

Colombia – UN report urges State to protect civilians and their rights amid ongoing violence by armed groups GENEVA  – Violence perpetrated by non-State armed groups and criminal organisations in Colombia continues to blight people’s lives and rip apart the social fabric of communities across the country, ac...

Colombia: UN report urges State to protect civilians & their rights amid ongoing violence by armed groups

Armed groups use violence to control the population to further their own interests, disproportionately affecting Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Colombians & peasants.

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

Justice for Jani Silva: Colombian campesina activist Jani Silva threatened in Putumayo Putumayo is a land in turmoil with land defenders on one side, and corporate interests on the other.

Profile in courage: Colombian environmental defender Jani Silva faces ongoing threats for her leadership of the Amazon Pearl region of the Amazon rainforest.

Peace Brigades International is an integral part of a web of global protective support for Jani & colleagues

rabble.ca/human-rights...

🚨 We’re Recruiting! 🚨

📢 Do you share our passion for human rights protection? Want to help shape PBI’s future?

📩 Apply today to join the PBI board by sending your CV & cover letter to recruitment@peacebrigades.org by March 16, 2025.
📜 Full details here: bit.ly/4bcgWfK

#HumanRights #PBIaccompanies

As RCMP Black Hawk helicopters are deployed to the New Brunswick-Maine border today amid calls to also send Canadian Armed Forces troops and helicopters, we look at the human rights implications of the militarization of the US-Canada border: pbicanada.org/2025/02/04/t... #migrantrights

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Black Hawk helicopters are now patrolling the Quebec-United States border to target “individuals who illegally enter Canada” in response to Trump's threats of tariffs that could be imposed on Saturday: pbicanada.org/2025/01/31/r... #migrantrights