Sobre nós
One of Us is a European federation protecting human life and human dignity, that today brings together 50 member NGOs across 20 European countries.
Its mission is to convey to the European institutions the field experience of its member organizations — associations that, every day in each of these countries, welcome and support women and men facing challenges related to family, pregnancy, and life.
The work of Um de nós is grounded in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which affirms in its very first articles:
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“Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected.” (Article 1)
“Everyone has the right to life.” (Article 2)
“The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity” (Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union).
The Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
The foundation of all freedoms and human rights lies precisely in the unconditional recognition of the dignity of every human person, from conception to natural death.
The name Um de nós expresses this unique humanity we all share, which binds us inseparably in a common destiny: to live. I am one of us, you are one of us, the embryo is one of us: we are united by our common humanity.
Rooted in the daily experience of millions of European citizens, the Um de nós Federation tirelessly reminds us that every life — by the simple fact of being human — deserves protection from the very beginning. And that every life matters.
Origin
When in 2011 the EU adopted the Regulation on the European Citizen Initiative, creating a formal mechanism for EU citizens to directly address to the EU institutions a petition requesting them to address specific issues through a new legislative act, ONE OF US was one of the first European Citizen Initiatives (ECIs) to be launched.
Following an invitation by Carlo Casini, then a member of the European Parliament and President of the Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, NGOs from all EU countries joined forces and requested the EU to adopt legislation that would ban the EU from supporting or financing any action implying or presupposing the destruction of human embryos.
This initiative collected 1.897.588 statements of support from citizens all over Europe, of which 1.721.626 were eligible. This is much more than 1 million signatures, that is the threshold for obliging the EU institutions to issue a formal response.
Among all the European Citizens’ Initiatives that have been registered by the European Commission since 2012, ONE OF US remains until today the one that has received the strongest support from European citizens.
In other words, of all the requests European citizens have ever directly brought to the EU and its institutions in this way, the protection of human dignity and unborn human lives remains the most widely supported and the most pressing.
More specifically, the initiative requested the insertion into the EU’s Financial Regulation of an ethics clause clearly and specifically outlawing the financing of such activities. In addition to that, similar clauses were to be inserted into the legal frameworks of the EU Research Program “Horizon 2020” and into the Regulation creating a Financial Instrument for the EU’s Development Cooperation.
These requests were contained in a ready-made draft legislative proposal, which formed an integral part of the initiative.
Apoiar a nossa causa com a sua contribuição financeira é muito apreciado.
Governance
The European Federation One of Us is composed of a Presidency, an Executive Committee, and an operative Direction.
Ségolène is the executive director of One of Us. She holds a PhD in social sciences. Her thesis (2024) focuses on the administration of justice by women from vulnerable neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires facing domestic violence.
She previously worked in NGOs, in the field of ecology (Courant pour une écologie humaine - France) and bioethics (Argentina).
Pablo Siegrist is Vice-President of One of Us. He is Director of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation in Spain (Madrid). He is an expert in the design, launch and management of new projects, particularly in the field of education. As a visiting professor, he collaborates with several business schools on strategy issues.
Law professor (Italy); former President of One of Us, member of the Executive Committee, President of the Movimento per la Vita in Italy.