Protection International

What Protection International does

Protection International (legal name: Protection International AISBL) is an international non-profit association registered in Belgium in 2007 and headquartered in Brussels, with a global staff of approximately 50-100 distributed across regional hubs and country offices. The organisation supports human rights defenders (HRDs) — individuals, civil society organisations, grassroots communities, WHRDs, LGBTQ+ defenders, and environmental and land rights defenders — through comprehensive protection programmes delivered via a preventative, collective, psychosocial, gender-sensitive and intersectional approach. Its core products and tools include Protection Manuals (translated into 12 languages), the Focus Observatory online platform for monitoring global public policies on HRD protection, an E-Learning Programme for capacity building, Research & Publications, and Protection Desks providing in-country preventative support. Regional hubs in Nairobi (PI Africa, 2019) and Guatemala City (PI Mesoamerica, 2020) anchor decentralised operations across at least 16 countries.

Protection International's business model is that of a grant-funded non-profit; it does not charge human rights defenders for its services and generates no commercial revenue. Operating income is sourced from institutional donors including Sigrid Rausing Trust, Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation, the European Union, ProtectDefenders.eu, Sida, Open Society Foundations, Misereor, Foundation for a Just Society, European Climate Foundation, Brot für die Welt, IFA, the German Federal Foreign Office, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Belgian Foreign Affairs, and the Swiss Confederation. Go-to-market is community-led: PI works in partnership with local civil society groups, HRDs, organisations, networks, and communities, delivering programmes through Protection Desks and regional hubs, while conducting targeted advocacy and capacity building through training, e-learning, and direct support. The organisation is currently governed by its 2024-2028 Global Strategy Framework ('An Enabling Environment for the Right to Defend Human Rights') and is undergoing a decentralisation process that delegates more strategic decision-making to regional hubs.

Name

Protection International

Legal name

Protection International AISBL

Website

https://protectioninternational.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Protection International is a Brussels-based international non-profit that supports human rights defenders globally through protection programmes, training, advocacy, and digital tools, funded by institutional donors and operating across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Protection Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Investigation and Security Services (5616)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Safeguarding, Accountability & Compliance (ESG, Gender/GBV, Do No Harm) (BPADAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Safeguarding) (BPADAHAF), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

Keywords

• Human rights protection
• Defender security training
• Non-profit advocacy
• Protection programmes
• Capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Donor Funding: Funding from foundations and institutional donors including Sigrid Rausing Trust, Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation, European Union, ProtectDefenders.eu, Sida, Open Society Foundations, Misereor, Foundation for Just Society, European Climate Foundation, Brot für die Welt, IFA, German Federal Foreign Office, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Belgium Foreign Affairs, Swiss Confederation, and others.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Protection International supports human rights defenders in developing their security and protection management strategies. The organization delivers comprehensive protection programmes using a preventative, collective, psychosocial, gender-sensitive, and intersectional approach, complemented by capacity-building tools including protection manuals, an e-learning programme, the Focus Observatory policy-monitoring platform, country-based Protection Desks, and targeted advocacy.

Product overview

Protection International is an international non-profit organization (not a technology company) that supports human rights defenders through a portfolio of tools, publications, and programs. The core offerings include: Protection Manuals (methodology guides for HRD security), Research & Publications (reports and studies on HRD protection), the Focus Observatory (an online platform for monitoring public policies globally), and an E-Learning Programme (online training for HRDs). The organization also produces specialized toolkits such as the Digital Safety Pamphlet for Women Human Rights Defenders and the Activist Guide to the Declaration +25. Protection Desks provide in-country preventative protection services. The organization operates through a decentralized structure with regional hubs (Africa, Mesoamerica) and country offices, guided by their Global Strategy Framework 2024-2028.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Focus Observatory: Online platform for monitoring, analysing and promoting good practice in policy developments for protecting human rights defenders globally
• E-Learning Programme
• Protection Manuals
• FOCUS Reports

Products and services

• Protection Manuals Comprehensive manuals providing guidance and methodologies for human rights defenders on security and protection management strategies, translated into 12 languages.
• Research & Publications Reports, studies, and publications covering protection of human rights defenders, criminalization, public policies, and best practices for HRD security.
• Focus Observatory An online global platform for monitoring, analyzing, and promoting good practices in public policy developments that governments and other state authorities adopt for protecting human rights defenders.
• E-Learning Programme An online educational platform providing training modules for human rights defenders to build capacities for managing their protection effectively, covering protection management, digital security, and wellbeing.
• Protection Desks Country-level offices focused on preventative protection of human rights defenders, providing in-country support and implementing protection strategies in specific countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Kenya, and Colombia.
• Digital Safety Pamphlet for Women Human Rights Defenders A comprehensive digital safety guide providing 16 essential practices for Women Human Rights Defenders to secure their work, protect information, and build collective safety networks.
• Activist Guide to the Declaration +25 A comprehensive guide that amplifies and builds on the Declaration +25, designed to help human rights defenders use the declaration in their advocacy work.
• Human Rights Defenders Poetry Book A poetry book featuring works from human rights defenders worldwide expressing their experiences and reflections on defending human rights, available in multiple languages with audio recordings.

Quantifiable outcome

• By 2014, PI had delivered more than 100 protection and security trainings to over 1,200 HRDs in 22 countries
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ProtectDefenders.eu ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-established with 11 other NGOs in 2015, ProtectDefenders.eu is the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism to protect HRDs from around the world who are in grave, high-risk situations.
• Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPI officially joined HRDN in Brussels in 2007. HRDN is a network of human rights organizations working on EU external action.
• Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), University of YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganized International Round Table on 'Rethinking the Protection of Human Rights Defenders' in 2017 and collaborated on Human Rights Defenders Poetry Challenge in 2022.
• Declaration+25 Consortium (18 organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium of 18 organizations that developed the Declaration+25 document, supplementing the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders for the 25th anniversary. Includes Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Defend Defenders, Forum Asia, Front Line Defenders, FIDH, ISHR, and others.
• Peace Brigades InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPI was formally established in 2007 by former volunteers of Peace Brigades International who decided to form a new organisation focused on preventive and collective approaches to HRD protection.
• UDEFEGUA (Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner in Guatemala for Protection Desk operations since 2008.
• East and Horn HRDs ProjectcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner in Uganda for Protection Desk operations since 2008.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Large international HRW organization that investigates and advocates on HRD protection cases globally, with overlapping advocacy targets but a research-and-reporting-led model rather than PI's ground-level protection focus.
• FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights): International federation of 192 HRDs organizations that provides advocacy, litigation, and capacity-building support to HRDs, sharing partner-network and Declaration+25 collaboration overlap with PI.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization with a dedicated HRDs campaign and research unit that addresses many of the same threats PI works on, but operates at much larger scale across broader thematic areas.

Direct peers

• Defend Defenders: East and Horn of Africa-focused HRD protection organization that provides capacity building, advocacy, and emergency support to defenders, overlapping with PI's PI Africa hub and Protection Desks in the region.
• Front Line Defenders: Dublin-based international NGO dedicated exclusively to the protection of human rights defenders, operating grants, rapid response, and training programs that closely mirror PI's mission and target beneficiaries.
• Peace Brigades International: International NGO providing protective accompaniment and capacity building for HRDs and civil society, founded by the same community of volunteers who subsequently established PI in 2007.

Emerging players

• Witness: Organization focused on video-based human rights documentation and digital security for HRDs, addressing an adjacent but increasingly overlapping digital-safety niche with PI's e-learning and digital security toolkits.
• ISHR (International Service for Human Rights): Geneva-based organization supporting HRDs working with UN human rights mechanisms, sharing advocacy-focused programming and Declaration+25 collaboration with PI.
• CIVICUS: Global alliance focused on civic space monitoring and HRD advocacy, partnering with PI on Declaration+25 and operating the Civicus Monitor that overlaps with PI's Focus Observatory scope.

Regional players

• FORUM-ASIA: Asian regional HRD network providing protection, advocacy, and capacity building across 20+ Asian countries, overlapping with PI's Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Philippines Protection Desks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/protectionint
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ProtectionInternatnl
• Facebookfacebook.com/Protection.International
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/protection-international-aisbl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Protection International