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trains and sends international volunteers to provide life-saving protection to human rights defenders who face violent reprisals because of the work they do. PBI bears witness in places where there is little international presence. Human rights defenders and their families feel safer due to PBI鈥檚 presence and many say they owe their lives to PBI.

Dan Slee is from the UK and was a volunteer for PBI in Colombia where he accompanied community leader Gildardo Tuburqu铆a and other members of the San Jos茅 de Apartad贸 Peace Community.聽聽聽

The Peace Community is a collective of 500 farmers who were displaced from their land due to the armed conflict that surrounds them and financial interests in their very fertile land. They have declared themselves a peace community that is dedicated to living by principles of non-violence and environmental sustainability. Dan and other PBI volunteers have offered them vital moral support and protection for over 15 years to support them in their efforts to stay on their land and protect their local resources for future generations.聽聽 They have returned to their land and declared themselves a peace community that is dedicated to living by principles of non-violence and environmental sustainability.

PBI鈥檚 model of protecting HRDs involves training ordinary people to become international observers to offer one year of their lives to go abroad and stand by the side of human rights defenders who are under threat as a result of their work. The PBI accompanier is effective precisely because he/she is a visible reminder of international concern. PBI currently has international volunteers in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Kenya and Honduras offering protection to over 300 human rights defenders at risk.聽聽

PBI has witnessed an escalation in threats and violence against defenders of land and environmental rights including indigenous and farming communities. These defenders are of fundamental importance to preserving the environment and their culture and way of life yet are being attacked, displaced and murdered. found that at least 908 defenders of land and environmental rights were killed between 2002-2013 due to increased competition over scarce natural resources . Given the gravity of this situation PBI has chosen to highlight the need for protection of land and environmental defenders in our Radio 4 appeal.