Interview with Domenica Bumma, European External Action Service
The Press Office had the opportunity to interview Domenica Bumma about her work at European External Action Service (EEAS) and their next activities about Human Rights and Democracy.
Please share with us about your background and your role at the European External Action Service.
I joined the Human Rights Team of the External Action Service in September 2022, after four years as Head of the Political Department of the EU Delegation to Brazil and previous experiences in the area of human rights and democracy in Turkey, the Middle East and Northern Africa region, as well as in the academic world. In the EEAS Human Rights Team, I am responsible inter alia for the relations and cooperation with the Global Campus, which I consider one of the most important flagship cooperation programmes of the EU ever.
The EU is a strong support and the main funder of the Global Campus since its beginnings more than 20 years ago and I am very proud that I have been tasked with coordinating our relations with the Campus. The EU has been supporting the Campus and helped it to grow into the unique network of universities providing human rights education in basically all regions of the world. I like to say that that Global Campus is much more than a network of universities, students and academicians. It is a global community of advocates and defenders strongly committed to the promotion of dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights. These values are in the DNA of the European Union and permeate our relations with the rest of the world. This is why I like to say that the Global Campus and the EU are strong natural partners in promoting and defending human rights and democracy across the world.
What are the next events and activities about Human Rights and Democracy that are organised by EEAS in 2023?
Of course, we will continue to implement many thematic human rights activities, including around the commemoration of major international human rights days, like Women’s Day on 8 March and all the other that will follow. But in 2023 we have decided to focus specifically on one vastly important overarching theme: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the last few years, there have been unprecedented challenges for human rights and democracy. Just name it: war crimes, peaceful demonstrations repressed in the most violent way, women and girls deprived of their most basic rights, arbitrary trials, impunity and increasing attacks against human rights defenders and their families and the list go on and on. But most worryingly, new narratives started questioning the universality of human rights, trying to alter the agreed international human rights doctrine, hinting that some human rights are more important than others. This is highly concerning. And this is why in 2023, the EU will focus its public events and communication on the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, together with the UN of course, the Global Campus and all the actors who are like us committed on a daily basis to defending all human rights as equal and universal.
Could you tell us about your participation in the sixth online Global Campus of Human Rights conversation regarding the International Women's Day campaign and gender equality?
This is the first time I participate in an online conversation organised by the Global Campus in the context of the International Women’s Day and I am very much looking forward to it, because it is very important to stand up for women rights and gender equality and have open and frank conversations on these topics with the public. I hope I will be able to contribute with the perspective and experience of the EU in this regards. This is a hugely important day for the EU and we are also getting ready for it. Typically, every year all our EU Delegations around the world join forces with EU Member States, the UN, Civil Society and human rights organizations in a broad range of activities and events.
Could you give a message to the students, professors, alumni, staff and partners of the Global Campus of Human Rights?
As I said, the Global Campus and the EU are strong allies in every region of the world to defend and protect human rights and democracy. Nowadays, the work of the Global Campus of Human Rights is more relevant than ever before, and the EU is proud of having supported the Campus since its inception more than 20 years ago, up to becoming the unique global human rights education network that it is today. We are no doubt living in complex times and my message to the “Global Campus Community” is: “Let’s continue to join forces and work even more closely together between us, with the UN, EU Member States, other countries, civil society, youth, the private sector and all actors committed to defending human rights around the world. We owe it to the too many people across the world, who turn to us for support!”
For more information contact our Press Office
Elisa Aquino –Isotta Esposito– Giulia Ballarin
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