How we work

: Volunteers Joanne Hutchinson and Esther Vink accompanying the Corporación Jurídica Libertad

Accompaniment and International Presence

We create an international presence, working as observers, accompanying people or groups that are under threat for their legitimate work defending human rights.

We aim for our presence and international accompaniment to work as ‘disincentives’ and to increase the protection of those people and organisations fighting peacfully for human rights. We intend to be a permanent and constant vehicle for the international community to express its concern.

Dialogue with Authorities

We understand that accompaniment and the task of offering international presence require more than the mere physical presence of foreign volunteers and international organisations (as necessary as this may be).

We believe that the effectiveness of our protection and dissuasion work increases, as our legitimacy is more widely recognised and we receive more international and national support. Hence PBI carries out the intense work of dialogue with authorities.

Supporting the Reconstruction of Social Fabric and Protection Measures

PBI works to share its teaching experience with other Colombian organisations and institutions so that it can be applied to assist in the reconstruction of Colombia’s social fabric. This reconstruction is seen as the only way to confront extreme situations, where organisations, collectives and people have been seriously affected by the politic of terror, internal displacement and the persecution of human rights organizations etc.

PBI also organises workshops to enable NGOs to speak about security and to develop tools for their protection and the implementation of their own security measures.

Information

It is important that the world has a more accurate view of Colombia than the one usually offered by the mass media – that of a violent country associated with drug trafficking. PBI currently publishes a quarterly newsletter called ColomPBIa which aims to reflect not only the organisation’s work but also the current situation of the country, especially in relation to human rights. As Amnesty International succinctly worded it in their publication Political Violence in Colombia; Myth and Reality it is important to show ‘the other Colombia, the image of the country which does not appear in the international media’s headlines’.