[3] Where hostile groups would employ methods such as arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, or other forms of violence, volunteers apply counter pressure by risking their lives to stand physically beside human rights activists to prevent their arrest or attack.
They can also act as impartial observers, focused on the protection of the rights of the accompanied, as opposed to a party with explicit or implicit political leanings or objectives.
[4] Apart from the immediate deterrence of violent human rights violations, the presence of volunteers also allows for the creation of spaces for local political and social activity which would have been restricted otherwise.
[2] Accompaniment may also mitigate the psychological effects resulting from the trauma of being a member of a persecuted minority, and counter the isolation that comes with being a victim of state terror, as others wish to distance themselves from the targeted group to avoid danger.
Non-partisanship, obeying host country laws, and moderate levels of intervention reduce these vulnerabilities and points of attack, further making activism more effective.