Experts on countries of origin by country

Dr Nelson A. Agbor is a legal academic, researcher and Country Expert on Cameroon with specialist expertise in international human rights law, constitutional law, humanitarian law and asylum. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Plymouth, where his doctoral research examined the impact of political power and governance on the protection of human rights in Cameroon, with reference to the Anglophone crisis. His work combines rigorous legal scholarship with detailed country-specific analysis of political developments, human rights violations and the legal frameworks affecting displaced persons and those seeking international protection.

Dr Agbor is a Visiting Lecturer in Law at Birmingham City University and The University of Law, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules in constitutional law, human rights law, land law, equity and trusts, business law and criminal justice. He is also an Alumni Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth and a peer reviewer for the International Journal of Law and Society. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at academic conferences, focusing on democracy, governance, jurisdiction, fair trial rights and the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Cameroon.

Drawing… Read more

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

Dr. Ahmad is a Reader in Global Health Humanities with expertise in country-of-origin information, migration, and asylum-related issues. Her Country Expert work focuses on producing clear, evidence-based analysis to support legal and policy decision-making. She has published widely in high impact academic journals, media articles, and international conferences. She is committed to accuracy, impartiality, and maintaining high professional standards in all consulting engagements.

Danielle Annoni is an associate professor of International Law and Human Rights at the Federal University of Parana (UFPR-Brazil), where she coordinates the Human Rights Observatory and Legal Practice in Human Rights and Migration. She has been conducting human rights research for 18 years. She is an educator, a mother and an active human rights defender, with a focus on migration, gender and the Latin American human rights protection system. Because of her work developed with vulnerable groups regarding the education of labor rights, the empowering of women through handicraft and gastronomy fairs, advocacy in the mediation of cultural conflicts, and access to justice and education, she has received several awards.

The Expert reads all relevant papers relating to a client free of charge and produces a short report on the case details. He relates these to the evidence already given and how he considers the subsequent hearing will be influenced by these. He rejects requests, if he feels there is very little chance of the client being offered permission to remain. He accepts payment in instalments.

Simone Elyse Carter is a public health and humanitarian expert with over 15 years of experience in outbreak analytics, research coordination, and strategic leadership. She currently serves as the Lead for Integrated Outbreak Analytics (IOA) at UNICEF, providing technical guidance and capacity strengthening for emergency response efforts worldwide.

Throughout her career, Simone has played a key role in developing data-driven solutions for complex health crises, leading interdisciplinary teams, and fostering global partnerships. Her work has included chairing the IOA working group under the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and overseeing systematic research dissemination to improve outbreak response strategies.

Previously, Simone managed the Integrated Analytics Cell (CAI) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she contributed to the development of evidence-based response mechanisms during public health emergencies. Her expertise spans epidemiology, humanitarian coordination, and policy development, making her a vital resource in advancing data-informed decision-making in crisis contexts.

Luke Freeman, PhD, is a leading expert on the culture and politics of Madagascar. He has brought this expertise to roles as a tenured professor at the University of London (LSE & UCL), as a special advisor to former president Marc Ravalomanana, and as a social and political risk analyst to the Madagascar extractive sector. He has also filled leading roles in the development and humanitarian sector, notably as a pioneer of the application of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples in the tropical timber sector. Luke's recent responsibilities include Director of Social Performance at Rio Tinto Madagascar, Director of Social Policy at UNICEF Madagascar and Head of Social Behaviour Change at CRS Madagascar. He has also worked as an advertising strategist for the WPP group and a leadership coach in the university sector.

Will Jones is a British academic who has been working on Central and Southern Africa, with a specialization in asylum, since 2007. He received his doctorate on refugees in Central Africa, particularly Rwanda, from the University of Oxford, where he later became a Departmental Lecturer in the Politics of Asylum at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre. He has also served as an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Excellence in Global Mobility Law and is currently an Associate Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Dr. Muzong W. Kodi has more than 40 years of research, writing and lecturing on Africa as well as working and residing in several African countries. He has written more than 200 country expert reports for asylum seekers and other migrants from several African countries. He has also provided more than 100 authentication reports for official documents and several reports on nationality and adoption cases. As a consultant, he has been contracted by international organisations, regional African organisations, and multinational companies. He previously held senior management positions in Transparency International, Amnesty, International, and the African Centre for Monetary Studies. I also taught at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He holds a PhD in African History from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and speaks fluent French, English, Lingala, and Kikongo, as well as intermediary Swahili.

Occupation: International Consultant in governance, anti-corruption, human rights, as well as political and investment risks in Africa.

Countries of expertise: the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo (ROC or Congo-Brazzaville), Angola, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda,… Read more

I am a French citizen of Cameroonian origin, shaped by dual Francophone and Anglophone cultural roots, within my African cultural heritage. I hold a master’s degree in mass communication and journalism alongside several postgraduate qualifications in audiovisual communication, corporate governance, and other studies in applied anthropology, and in economics.

 My academic training in journalism— particularly the theory of "Information and Evidence" — underpins my methodological approach as a country conditions expert witness, combining the rigour of investigative journalism with the independence and scepticism required to assess credibility and weigh sources at the standard demanded by courts and tribunals.

As a permanent press correspondent  based in the Geneva area since 1993 and accredited as a permanent press correspondent at UN Headquarters (1995–2005), I have built an extensive network across UN agencies (OHCHR, UNHCR, IOM, WHO, UNAIDS, and others) and I maintain direct contacts with journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and officials across Africa. 

I combine published documentary research with original interviews — both with asylum claimants and with in-country sources — to… Read more

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

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

Dr. Gospel Obele – Research and Development Economist with 11+ years of senior-level experience in economic strategy, market intelligence, and policy innovation.

Write over 25 articles, reports and publication, advising 50+ high-profile institutions with combined $850m in earnings, across 30+ sectors and 10+ countries.

Delivered 350+ expert media appearances (BBC, Al Jazeera, CGTN, Arise TV, Africa News) as a recognized voice on markets, economy, and social development.

Dr. Pacifico has been an international lawyer since 1993, with expertise in International Human Rights Law, particularly human rights of refugees and forced migrants, since 1997. She has been an associate professor for Law and International Relations at Maceio, Brasilia, and Joao Pessoa universities since 1997.  She has taught International Law/Relations, Human Rights, and Refugee and Migration Issues for more than two decades. Dr. Pacifico has also presented seminars, given lectures and interviews, published papers, supervised theses and dissertations on these issues, and my own research principally focuses on human rights of legal minorities and human rights protections of refugees and legal minorities in Brazil and abroad.

Currently, Dr. Pacifico is a full-time associate professor in International Relations at Paraiba State University and a full-time collaborator/researcher at the Post-Graduate Program in Comparative Studies on the Americas, at University of Brasilia, both in Brazil, in addition to being a Senior Research Associate at the Refugee Law Initiative at University of London, UK. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the York University Centre for Refugee Studies, Canada (2009 to 2010), visiting research fellow at the Refugee Studies… Read more

Christian Reed is a Medical Anthropologist and Epidemiologist who specializes in sub-Saharan and East Africa. He has extensive research experience in Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia and speaks Portuguese, Swahili, Lunda-Ndembu, and Bemba. His single-authored book "Landscapes of Activism" pertains to pharmaceutical treatment access and HIV/AIDS activism with the matrilineal and Muslim tribes of northern Mozambique. He specializes in the social ramifications of infectious and communicable disease and rural and urban global health. Christian also studies religion with interests in traditional religion and healing, Pentecostalism, Catholicism, Santaria, Voodoo, and spirit possession.

I have been conducting research on central African history and politics since I was awarded a Fulbright IIE scholarship to Gabon in 1999. I earned a MA and PhD in history from Indiana University. Since 2011, I have been a professor of history at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Through my research and my visits to both the DR Congo and Gabon, I have an extensive network of contacts in government, human rights, academic, and diplomatic circles in the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and the DRC.

Hana Rohan is a researcher and practitioner with over a decade of experience in humanitarian, development, and public health settings, with particular expertise in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She holds a doctorate in international development and has led qualitative and mixed-methods research for institutions including the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, BBC Media Action, and international NGOs. Her work spans health systems, epidemic response, gender-based violence, and displacement, often at the intersection of conflict and structural inequality. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and contributed to high-level policy processes, bringing both academic rigour and grounded insight to her analysis. She specialises in producing clear, evidence-based expert reports that communicate complex sociopolitical contexts with accuracy and ethical care for asylum and human rights proceedings.

Experienced international trade and logistics expert specializing in infrastructure procurement, supply chain management, cross-border commercial operations, and strategic market development across emerging markets.

Dr David Seddon is a social scientist with more than 40 years experience in Africa and the Middle East, and Nepal, who has produced around 500 country expert witness reports