Peace Brigades International (PBI) is an international non-profit organization, influenced by non-violent philosophies, including those of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. The founders of PBI shared a profound conviction that ordinary people can take action to stop war, human rights abuses, and rights violations, even when their governments cannot or will not.
We envision a world in which people address conflicts nonviolently, where human rights are universally upheld, and social justice and intercultural respect have become a reality. We believe that lasting solutions to conflict cannot be imposed from the outside, but must be based on the capacity and desires of local people. We have been conducting nonviolent activism and defending human rights in conflict zones throughout the world since 1981.
Our work is based on principles of non-partisanship and non-interference, in the belief that lasting transformation of violent conflict cannot be imposed from outside but must be based on the capacity of local people to build a genuine peace. We act only at the expressed request of local people and it is they who determine where our assistance is most needed.
History of Peace Brigades International
PBI’s work began its first field project in Guatemala in 1981. Past project countries include El Salvador, Haiti, East Timor, the Balkans, Sri Lanka and Native American communities in North America.
PBI currently operates field projects in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras Costa Rica/Nicaragua, Nepal, and Kenya with support provided to defenders in Indonesia.
Peace Brigades International - USA
Our Field Projects are backed by an international structure comprised of 16 country groups, including the U.S., Canada, and many European Countries.
The work of PBI-USA focuses on supporting the field projects through volunteer recruitment, fundraising, public education and political support networks. PBI-USA also promotes education and training on peace and nonviolent strategies, as well as conducts outreach activities, such as speaking tours, in order to build awareness for the field of human rights, peace and conflict resolution in the U.S.