Acompaniment and physical presence: our physical presence at a place or event has a protective effect. It helps dissuade attacks against human rights defenders and gives visibility to international concerns for a person or case. It is also an invaluable source of moral support for individuals at risk. PBI’s physical presence on the ground takes place through the following activities:

• Physical accompaniment to at-risk human rights defenders in zones where we work, mostly to individuals and organisations with whom we have formal accompaniment agreements.
• Meetings at defenders’ workplaces
• International observation of events, seminars, protests, trials, dialogue spaces, press conferences and other key moments
• Strategic presence to give visibility to international concerns and provide “umbrella” protection to human rights defenders and collectives within a certain region

Find more information about the organizations that PBI currently accompanies here.