Human Rights Advocacy: A Cause Worth Committing To

An Interview with Maria D’Onofrio, Advocacy Officer at 

Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice

The IIMA Human Rights Office conducted an interview with Maria D’Onofrio, Advocacy Officer at Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) and Secretary General of the International Catholic Center of Geneva (CCIG). On September 22^nd D’Onofrio sat on the Panel Discussion on Youth and Human Rights during the 33^rd session of the Human Rights Council. As a young women and a former intern of the IIMA Human Rights Office, we asked D’Onofrio to share the story of her personal empowerment and how this led her to become a permanent human rights advocate in Geneva.

IIMA: VIDES International is an NGO that works with young volunteers that is promoted by IIMA. How did your involvement with VIDES begin? What drew you to this organization?

Maria D’Onofrio: That’s a good question… it was basically by chance. When I first heard about VIDES I was doing an internship in the consulate of Italy in Brussels… I knew it would be a three month internship so I was looking for work that would come next. I found that there was an opening [in the Italian] Civil Servants Program, aimed at involving young people in promoting active citizenship… VIDES was one of the NGO partners. So among the different projects I found that this one focusing on human rights would reflect more what I had studied and what I would like to commit to… I [served for] one year… and then I stayed… [What] was most interesting about my time with VIDES was [what] the organization was doing but also the contact with the other volunteers. We were totally different people. Even in my orientation for VIDES with other Italian volunteers, I still found that we were very diverse. Also the fact that not all of them were Catholic… I enjoyed seeing that a Catholic inspired NGO was not only open to Catholic people… as long as one had this idea of doing something, of volunteering for the common good, this would speak to the VIDES identity.

IIMA: At the end of your speech on the Panel discussion on Youth and Human Rights you said that, “Empowered youth will find ways to make human rights a reality for the rest of society.” Could you describe the road of your personal empowerment and how this has brought you all the way to the UN?  

MD: I always liked to work with people. Even at school I had this idea of gathering people around a project, I felt that working together with others would empower the project itself… On the other hand… one thing I thought was crucial was how I was raised, how my family helped me out to express myself... I felt involved in whatever decision my family would make for me or for us [ever] since I was a child. I think this has an impact because when you feel like you can participate in something, you also feel like…it belongs to you and you are more prone to commit… Even if I was not aware of it at that time, now that I look back, this was crucial and influenced the way that I related to people of my age or older than me. I didn’t feel fear in approaching others. [Another experience was when I was] 15 and I served as an animator and educator for a group of younger kids in my parish. It was a good experience in terms of responsibility... you had to set an example… comply with tasks, a schedule… it helped me [commit] to something that was not strictly for me or my family interests.

“I felt involved in whatever decision my family would make… since I was a child. When you feel like you can participate in something, you also feel like…it belongs to you…” - Maria D’Onofrio

IIMA: What inspired your interest in human rights? How did your upbringing contribute to that?

MD: I don’t really know how this happened. My university studies definitely [played] a part… I think what attracted me the most [about Political Science] was the idea that I would study different cultures and different countries, and open my [horizons]. During my studies, [I found that] human rights was a cause that was worth committing to… My professor of international law helped me [discover this interest]… I was looking for a thesis [topic] in international law and she said, “Why don’t you do your thesis on the last Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General?” I agreed. I found myself writing my thesis on a report which was describing thousands and thousands of human rights violations—almost reaching the level of genocide. It was tough, they were really [descriptive]… it was a fact finding mission, interviewing victims. It was quite… strong… but I think it was an important step in terms of helping me know what I wanted to work on in the future. And then the last step which, was the most important one, [involved] me working [at IIMA] where I actually could see how this was in practice, not just the legal framework… This is what motivated me to continue.

IIMA: As a woman, what are the characteristics it takes to be successful in a career of human rights?

MD: Women working in [human rights] are very tough and very determined… very focused, very motivated… But there is something [singular] regarding the contribution of women… I think that when you work in human rights there is also always some sort of personal contribution and it can be very demanding, sometimes even overwhelming. When you are a woman you have work, family, babies, etc.—either you are organized or you cannot get it. It’s not like going to another office with a fixed schedule—you enter at 8 a.m. you get out at 4 p.m. and that’s it—I mean you are in contact with people from other parts of the world with different schedules, different times and also very strict deadlines… so you have to be very flexible. This is part of the “multi-tasking woman” profile.

IIMA: Thank you for your time, Mrs. D’Onofrio. We wish you the best of luck with your work.