Experts on countries of origin by surname

Sayana Namsaraeva is a senior research associate at the Mongolia & Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge. After graduating in China Studies at the University of Saint Petersburg, she did her MA degree in Comparative Ethnography at National Chengchi University (Taipei).  She was awarded a PhD degree  in Political and Cultural History of Pre-modern China at the Institute of Oriental Studies (Moscow, RAS), held research positions at Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology  (Halle, Germany) and taught as a lecturer at the Institute for Studies of Religions and the Central Asia at the University of Bern (Switzerland). Throughout her academic career spanning over twenty five  years, her research interests embrace a wide range of topics in Mongolian and China studies, Siberian Studies, Buryat Diasporas and Kinship, Migration and Border Studies, with a particular attention to North Asian borderlands. She teaches a course on ‘Borders and Borderlands in North Asia’ for Inner Asia Paper at the Department of Social Anthropology. 

She has served as a COI expert since 2018, responding to cases from Mongolian and Russian citizens. Based on more than twenty cases she reviewed, Sayana analytically summarized … Read more

Country Research Specialist & NGO Program Manager for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The expert has 15 years of planning, management, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting experience in both domestic and international development including gender justice, conflict and security, education, children’s rights, and economic governance projects. Worked in Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Familiar with donor reporting for major bilateral and multilateral agencies including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

Shadrack Wanjala Nasong’o, Ph.D. is Professor of International Studies and former department chair at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, where he has taught since 2005. He teaches courses in comparative politics, international relations, and African politics. He has previously taught at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, University of Nairobi, and Kenyatta University, both in Kenya. Additionally, Prof. Nasong’o has held prestigious summer fellowships at Riara University, Egerton University, and St. Paul’s University, all in Kenya. A political comparativist, Prof. Nasong’o’s research interest lies in the areas of democratization, identity politics, social conflict, governance, and development. He is author, editor, and co-editor of thirteen books, and dozens of peer reviewed book chapters and articles in refereed journals. His latest publication is a monograph titled Kenya and the Politics of a Postcolony (London: Anthem Press, 2024). For his prolific scholarly work, Prof. Nasong’o has been honored with the Rhodes College’s Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, and the Ali Mazrui Award for Research and Scholarly Excellence from the University of Texas at Austin.

CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd, is an experienced advocate in the appellate court of Egypt. With over 12 years of practice, they specialize in various legal areas, including Egyptian Civil Law, human rights, domestic abuse, trade regulations, criminal law, and Sharea (Islamic Law). They collaborate closely with lawyers, judges, and the Ministry of Interior on national security and civil registration cases. Additionally, they provide reports related to human rights, asylum, gender violence, and political persecution.

Iranian lawyer with substantial work experience with clients, courts, police, etc in Iran, as well as international organizations. Expert in Iranian legal system and Islamic law. Available also for authentication of Iranian documents. 

Dr. Josephine Ndagire is an accomplished academic and human rights activist with over 18 years of dedicated service at grassroots, national, and international levels. She has served as an Expert Member on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Committee on the Prevention of Torture in Africa and currently chairs the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (Uganda). She also serves on the Councils of Penal Reform International (United Kingdom) and the International Society for Human Rights (Germany). Renowned for her incisive legal insight and leadership, Dr. Ndagire has featured on BBC Newsday to discuss pressing global justice issues, including migrant deportations and the ICJ reparations case DRC vs. Uganda. Her work has significantly influenced human rights advocacy, legal reform, and justice systems across Africa.

Dr. Ndagire has provided expert consultation to leading international organizations, including UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, IGAD, and the International Development Law Organization. She lectures at the School of Law, Makerere University, and has previously held senior roles at the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, the Foundation for Human Rights… Read more

Dr. Andrew Nelson is an applied cultural anthropologist with a focus on urban and migration studies. While the bulk of his ethnographic fieldwork has been conducted in Nepal, he also has experience doing research in India, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States. With Rob Curran, he co-wrote Journey without End: Migration from the Global South through the Americas (Vanderbilt Press, 2022), and with Roos Willems and Alex Rödlach, he co-edited The Crux of Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks (Lexington Press, 2018). He has also published academic articles on Nepali-speaking refugees from Bhutan, and Nepali migrants in South and North America. Currently, he is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of North Texas.

The Expert is a social anthropologist with special interest on Anthropology and ethnography in Africa.

The Expert is a columnist, writing on Vietnam. He has focused on producing expert reports in relation to Vietnam issues. He has good experience in providing country expert reports for immigration solicitors representing Vietnamese clients. He also attended several conferences and expert group meetings like The Global Organized Crime Index in the past. He is a graduate of the The University of West London with a 2:1 degree. His research and publications have focused on economic, financial, social, political developments human trafficking, political dissent, religious freedom, human trafficking and the Vietnam state security system cracking down on dissidents so on.

The expert is a multi-lingual independent research consultant with over fifteen years of experience in conducting research in governance, political risks, and political economy analysis. 

The expert has led research projects, scoping studies and evaluations for a wide range of international agencies and donors including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). 

The expert covers many aspects particularly the politics of identity, political and security risks, social and cultural issues, human rights, political economy, governance, and geopolitics (in particular, concerning Africa’s Great Lakes Region). 

While his research has focused on these countries, he has significant field experience in many countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Horn of Africa. Various donors and international development agencies recognise his research and advisory services as a highly effective resource to enhance their capacity in making action-led decisions and policy development. 

His research and consultancy are based on an in-depth understanding of the cultural settings of the above regions. 

The expert is frequently commissioned by the courts to produce country expert witness reports for litigation… Read more