Skip to main content

Experts on countries of origin by surname

Abbas, Dr. Ahmed

Dr. Ahmed is often called upon to provide advisory services for international organizations, governments, and corporations navigating legal issues in the Middle East. His reputation for accuracy, sensitivity, and integrity is well-established, and he remains a trusted voice in both the legal and academic communities.

Occupation: Dr. Ahmed Abbas is a trusted expert in Middle Eastern law, politics,
and culture, with two decades of experience providing expert witness
testimony, consulting, and analysis for governments, multinational
corporations, international NGOs, and legal teams. With a deep
understanding of the region's complex legal systems and sociopolitical structures, Dr. Al-Fahad has earned a reputation for his
reliable, nuanced, and clear assessments in cases involving
geopolitical conflicts, family law, and cross-border legal disputes.
His career has spanned a wide array of sectors, including international
arbitration, human rights, political risk analysis, and Islamic
jurisprudence. Known for his meticulous approach to research and an
ability to convey complex concepts to diverse audiences, Dr. Ahmed
has successfully assisted clients in navigating both the legal and
cultural intricacies of the Middle East. Fluent in Arabic and English,
he’s also worked extensively across North Africa, the Levant, and the
Gulf region, advising clients on both regional affairs and international
litigation.
Dr. Ahmed career is defined by his strong professional ethics,
empathetic understanding of the region's challenges, and a
commitment to helping clients achieve fair and informed outcomes.
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Abramowitz, Sharon

Sharon Abramowitz is Associate Research Professor at Georgetown University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security. She is a medical anthropologist who specializes in community engagement, mental health, gender violence, epidemic preparedness and response. She has been a leading global advocate for building national community engagement capacity, strengthening integrated analytics (IOA) and social science, risk communications, and community engagement (RCCE) capacity, metrics, and utilization in public health emergencies.

She is presently on the editorial board of the Journal for Humanitarian Affairs, and is honorary faculty at the University of Hong Kong School of Public Health. She is the author of the Inter-Agency Minimum Quality Standards and Indicators for Community Engagement and the monograph Searching for Normal in the Wake of the Liberian War, co-editor of the book Medical Humanitarianism: Ethnographies of Practice, and has written for Nature Human Behavior, Social Science and Medicine, The Lancet, Global Public Health, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and the Journal of Infectious Disease. Lastly, Abramowitz leads Communitology, an initiative that connects social science researcher/country-of… Read more

Occupation: Associate Professor
Countries of expertise: Antigua and Barbuda, Cote d`Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone

Acharya, Dr Anaya

Country Witness Expert on India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Occupation: Country Witness Expert on South Asia
Human Rights Researcher and Legal Analyst
Specialist on Caste-Based Discrimination, Religious Persecution, and Gender-Based Violence
Consultant on Minority Rights and Political Oppression
Countries of expertise: Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Aengst, Jennifer

I am a medical anthropologist with an extensive research background on reproductive health and gender disparities, specifically in India, Nepal, and Guatemala. In India and Nepal, I worked with three NGOs in 1995-1996 on the issues of girl trafficking, gender-based violence, and refugee assistance. In 2001, I interviewed Nepali human rights advocates about efforts to change legislation and build advocacy to assist girls who had been trafficked. In Guatemala, I researched how reproductive health disparities were impacting indigenous women in the highlands region. I conducted in-depth fieldwork in the north Indian region of Ladakh, where much of my research was focused on ethnic/religious tension among Buddhists and Muslims in the region. My research analyzed the persistence of health disparities, ethnic/religious conflict, and gender discrimination. 

Occupation: Adjunct Professor of Anthropology; Health Researcher
Countries of expertise: Guatemala, India, Nepal

Afewerki, Dr Daniel

Country Witness Expert on East Africa, including Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Uganda.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Occupation: Country Witness Expert on East Africa

Human Rights Specialist

Academic Researcher

Legal Consultant on Refugee and Asylum Law
Countries of expertise: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda

Agams, Lesley

Lesley Agams is a Nigeria-based legal expert and country conditions specialist, providing authoritative reports and analysis on gender, human rights, and socio-legal issues across West Africa. She goes beyond the headlines to deliver nuanced, data-driven analysis on women's rights, sexual & gender-based violence, the socio-political landscape in Nigeria and more.

Occupation: Lawyer, Author & Entrepreneur
Countries of expertise: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

Aguilar, Professor M.I.

Expertise on religion and politics in a number of African, Asian and Latin American countries - and in a number of languages. Current research includes China (Tibet), Chile, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe; Libya and Syria

Occupation: Chair in Religion and Politics & Director, Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics (CSRP), University of St. Andrews
Countries of expertise: Brazil, Burundi, China, Colombia, Cote d`Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Agwu, Prince

Prince Agwu is a Nigerian academic with a social work background. He specialises in social policy, focusing on migration, health, and education. He is a passionate researcher, with extensive expertise in qualitative and quantitative studies. His training came from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Occupation: Academic
Countries of expertise: Nigeria, United Kingdom

Ahmad, Waheed

Waheed Ahmad is a Human Rights Lawyer from Pakistan who currently is an Advisory Committee Member at The National Commission of Human Rights Pakistan. He has worked as an Appellate Court Attorney for the past 24 years and defended more than a thousand clients (juveniles, women, and minorities including the LGBT community) most of them deprived of their fundamental human rights. He has been invited to over thirty-three countries to deliver lectures and speeches on the finite matters of Pakistan’s politics and Legal system.

Occupation: Advocate
Countries of expertise: Pakistan

Ahmed, Dr Omar

Country Witness Expert on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Occupation: Country Witness Expert on South & Central Asia
Human Rights Specialist
Legal and Political Researcher
Consultant on Gender-Based Violence and Religious Persecution
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan

Ahmed, Omer

Omer is a Somali speaking solicitor (presently non-practicing), with expertise on all aspects of irregular migration from Africa and Yemen. He is based in the region with offices in the UK, and with extensive experience of delivering clear concise and cogent subject matter expertise to UK courts.

Occupation: Lawyer
Countries of expertise: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen

Ajdari, Dr Arben

Country Witness Expert on Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Occupation: Country Witness Expert on the Western Balkans
Human Rights Specialist
Legal and Political Researcher
Analyst on Ethnic Discrimination and Post-Conflict Justice
Countries of expertise: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia

Akter, Yasmin

Occupation: Advocate, Researcher and Part time Lecturer
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan

al Khouri, Riad

A Middle East specialist, Riad trains, advises, lectures, and researches such topics as Business, Politics, and Migration, inter alia, publishing on them and others, as well as making media contributions. He holds a High School Diploma from l’École internationale de Genève; a BA from the American University of Beirut, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and an MLitt from the University of Oxford, Faculty of Social Studies. Among other present positions he is Country of Origin Information expert for the Fahamu Refugee Program, Oxford; Special Advisor to the Global Challenges Forum, Geneva; and board associate, SUNSGLOW Global Training in the Rule of Law, New York City. He is fluent in Arabic and English, with a strong knowledge of French. 

Occupation: Researcher
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, Yemen

Algar-Faria, Dr Gilberto

Dr Gilberto Algar-Faria (he/him/his) is an expert in the Sri Lankan post-war environment (PhD Politics, Bristol, 2018) with over a decade of experience in writing country expert witness reports. He has written over 50 reports for the UK courts considering asylum appeals from Sri Lankan individuals (including [2020] UKAITUR PA029062016, [2021] UKAITUR PA124362019 and [2024] UKAITUR UI2022005451) and has also contributed to Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Responses to Information Requests. Previously, Dr Algar-Faria was the Development & Research Manager at the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (2023), and a Sessional Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia (2021–22). Before that he was a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the University of Oxford (2020–21) and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol (2016–19). He writes reports in a private capacity.

Occupation: Research Consultant (private capacity). BA(Hons.), MSc, PhD.
Countries of expertise: Sri Lanka

Alghizzi, Hamid Jumaa Hassan

• The Expert was exposed to the Kuwaiti culture and dialect from his childhood all the way to adulthood
• Is familiar with Bidoon areas in Kuwait as he previously visited them.
• Has an in-depth knowledge of the Bidoon’s history, activities and longstanding problems.
• Has had contacts with hundreds of Bidoons including some known political activists.
• Has issued reports that have been influential in the court’s decision process.
• Uses a thorough and a detailed method of assessment.
The Expert was born in 1973 in Iraq, Basra city which is adjacent to the Kuwaiti border. In addition to having Kuwaiti relatives, the geographical proximity of Kuwait to the city of Basra enhanced his exposure to the Kuwaiti culture and dialect from his childhood all the way to adulthood. For instance, interacting with Kuwait nationals who used to cross the borders freely during the eighties during which and the Kuwaiti TV channels where mainstream TV in every Iraqi household in Basra.
The exposure to Bidoons was enhanced following the Iraqi invasion to Kuwait in 1990 as many of them were deported by the Kuwaiti authorities and the majority of them lived in the Iraqi cities of Basra and Thi Qar.
In 1994 he completed his Bachelor Degree in Petroleum… Read more

Occupation: Bidoon Expert
Countries of expertise: Kuwait

Alhamadi, Dr Amir

Country Witness Expert on Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

► Get a Sample Report, Expert CV, and Free Consultation.
► Responds to inquiries within 1 hour and deliver reports within 1 week.
► Adheres to the minimum rate that meets Legal Aid requirements.
 

Expert at the international agency The Human Rights:
We provide expert witness reports for asylum cases worldwide, covering human rights violations, political persecution, and systemic oppression. Our reports are trusted by lawyers, courts, and immigration authorities in the UK, USA, Canada, and the EU.

Winner of the Expert Witness Awards in the category of Best Immigration, Asylum & Refugee Expert Witness 2024

Occupation: Country Witness Expert on the Middle East
Human Rights Specialist
Legal Researcher and Academic Consultant
Regional Analyst on Armed Conflict and Religious Persecution
Countries of expertise: Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen

Ali, Syed Mohammad

Syed Mohammad Ali is a lecturer for the MA in Global Security Studies program ay Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Ali has a PhD in development anthropology, and he has extensive experience working with multilateral, bilateral, government, and non-government organizations on varied international development challenges.

Besides teaching, Dr. Ali is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., and he is a Non-Resident Faculty member affiliated with the Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. He is also the author of several peer-reviewed articles, half a dozen book chapters, as well as the book Development, Poverty and Power in Pakistan: The Impact of State and Donor Interventions on Farmers, published by Routledge in 2015. His other publications include numerous policy papers for leading think-tanks including the United States Institute of Peace and the Middle East Institute. 

Dr. Ali writes a weekly op-ed in the Express Tribune, an affiliate of the New York Times in Pakistan, since 2011. He regularly participates in panel discussions on several Pakistani news channels, as well as on international media outlets including Al Jazeera, China Global Television Network, Channel NewsAsia, Voice of America’s televised Urdu Service programs… Read more

Occupation: Academic & researcher with expertise in South Asia
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan

Allen, Andrea S

Andrea S. Allen research has addressed matters of race, sexuality, gender, violence, and religion in Brazil and the African Diaspora. Her first book Violence and Desire in Brazilian Lesbian Relationships (Palgrave Macmillan 2015) focused on the experiences of lesbian women in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Dr. Allen is currently working on a second book project about LGBT evangelical Brazilians, race, religious identity, and sexual subjectivity.

Occupation: Professor, University of Toronto
Countries of expertise: Brazil, United States of America

Allo, Dr. Awol

Dr. Allo is a senior legal scholar specializing in human rights, political repression, conflict sensitivity, social movements, political parties, post-conflict reconstruction, peace-building, and transitional justice. A native of the Horn of Africa, Dr. Allo possesses extensive knowledge and experience in the region.

Over the past five years, Dr. Allo has been commissioned by law firms, public bodies, and NGOs to prepare country expert reports on various issues, including political repression, political parties, social movements, protests, nationality laws, healthcare provisions, national service, trafficking, and other cultural and social matters.

Dr. Allo has authored over 100 country expert reports for solicitors and attorneys in the UK, USA, and Europe.

Occupation: Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Sheffield.
Countries of expertise: Eritrea, Ethiopia