Experts on countries of origin by country

A strategic and results-oriented humanitarian expert with a proven ability to lead high-impact programmes, strengthen institutions, manage complex donor portfolios, and support governments and civil society in delivering sustainable humanitarian and development outcomes. Combines technical excellence with practical field experience, strong leadership, and a collaborative approach to achieving measurable results across the Middle East.

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.

My expertise encompasses humanitarian affairs, public policy, migration, education, community resilience, religious and ethnic diversity, civil society development, international cooperation, and stakeholder engagement, with extensive knowledge of the social, political, economic, and cultural dynamics shaping emerging and developing regions. Through research, policy analysis, and community-focused initiatives, I have contrubted to advancing sustainable development, social inclusion, intercultural dialogue, institutional capacity building, and regional cooperation, while leading forthcoming research on governance reform, development partnerships, educational transformation, migration trends, and socioeconomic development.

Dr. Ali is a leading authority on Middle Eastern law and politics, known for combining deep regional knowledge with sharp legal and political analysis. He works at the intersection of courts, policy, and academia, advising on some of the most complex and sensitive issues facing the region. His expertise spans constitutional law, conflict, governance, and international accountability, grounded in long experience with real-world cases and institutions. He is especially valued for his ability to explain complicated Middle Eastern realities clearly, persuasively, and with credibility.

Afrah Almatwari is an academic researcher, Middle East analyst, and professional Arabic-English translator specializing in contemporary Iraqi socio-political dynamics, governance structures, and human rights frameworks. Currently reading for an MRes in Politics at Birkbeck, University of London.

Her research evaluates the complex intersections of formal statutory law, parallel non-state structures, and localized conflict resolution mechanisms.

She produces objective, tribunal-ready country-of-origin assessments for UK legal proceedings, with expertise evaluating gender-specific security risks, state protection capabilities, and tribal clientelism across federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region (KRI).

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.

Dr Haian Dukhan is a Syrian-British political scientist specialising in the contemporary politics of Syria and the wider Middle East. A Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Teesside University and a Fellow of the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St Andrews, he completed his PhD in International Relations at St Andrews in 2017.

His research addresses state–society relations, tribal and kinship networks, sectarianism, and ethno-religious and minority communities in Syria, grounded in original Arabic-language fieldwork. He is the author of State and Tribes in Syria (Routledge, 2019) and co-editor of Spoils of War in the Arab East (Bloomsbury, 2024), and provides country-of-origin information on Syria to European refugee councils.

I hold a Masters degree in Human Rights and have sixteen years experience living in the Middle East working for national and international human rights and humanitarian organisations in legal, policy and research roles. I have authored numerous in-depth legal and policy reports covering human rights and humanitarian issues in Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq.

I have experience of submitting legal reports to UN human rights treaty body mechanisms and the UN Human Rights Council as well as the Goldberg Committee (Israel).

I have written for many news outlets and contributed to books analysing the conflict, political, social and cultural developments in Syria.

Dr. Shaul Gabbay completed a BA at Bar Ilan University and an MA at Tel-Aviv University. In 1991 he received a Presidential Fellowship from the U.S. to continue his studies. In 1995 he completed the PhD program at Columbia University in New York and received an invitation from the University of Chicago for a Post Doctoral program. In 1998 Dr. Gabbay returned to Israel to join the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Gabbay joined the University of Denver as the Director of the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2001- 2010.  He continued his research at DU as a Senior Scholar until 2015 when he was appointed Director of the Global Research Institute.

His areas of expertise include Middle East cultures and societal norms,   Middle East conflicts, and human rights issues existing in Muslim societies.  He is regularly cited and acts as a commentator in national and international media such as the Associated Press, CBS, NBC, FOX and MSNBC.

Academic with expertise on many countries in the Middle East; has extensive experience providing expert reports, including nationality assessment and document authentication reports.

The expert is lecturer in Kurdish and Gender Studies at the University of Exeter and has extensive experience in providing country expert reports, nationality assessment, and language analysis.

Independent researcher. Country expert reports, nationality assessment, language analysis, Gender-based violence, Ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East, and Document authentication.

Audra Grant works at the intersection of conflict, human rights, and governance in fragile, conflict-affected settings in the Middle East and Africa. As an international development professional and subject matter expert at NORC, her projects addressed diverse issues affecting vulnerable populations, from human rights, illicit trade, extremism, and organized crime to child labor and youth recruitment into violence. Audra has over 20 years of experience as a practitioner, security and policy professional and academic and has worked in nearly every country in the Middle East and North Africa and also in over 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing policy and program advice to the USG, private sector, and international donors. She held senior positions at RAND and was a career analyst at the U.S. Department of State / INR. A former assistant professor at University Al-Akhawayn, Ifrane, Morocco, she is a Senior Lecturer at The George Washington University. Audra is also an advisor for the Women’s Ambassador Foundation, Howard University, and reviewer for the Journal of Peace and Development and Contemporary Review of the Middle East. 

The Expert is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East. 

With a solid legal background and specialised knowledge of immigration in the Middle East. I have developed a comprehensive understanding of asylum and country information, especially in the context of  Iraq, Kuwait and the wider gulf region. My experience includes assessing legislative frameworks, analysing national conditions, and case law related to protection claims.

I am a Kurdish-British independent consultant specialising in Middle Eastern politics, particularly the political structures of Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish affairs, and regional geopolitics. I provide expert country of origin (COI) reports, political analysis, and cultural briefings for legal professionals and private entities. My work bridges lived experience, academic research, and institutional understanding, ensuring nuanced and evidence-based insight into complex political and social dynamics. I also work as an interpreter and have worked with an intelligence company as a due diligence researcher and interviewer with a focus on the Middle East.

Dr. Sana Yaseen Khudhur is an author and lecturer at the Department of Education/ Arden University.

She completed her BA in English Language and Literature at Salahaddin University/Erbil in 2011 and was awarded a scholarship to pursue MA degree in Practice of Teaching and Learning English Language. In 2014, she was awarded another scholarship to pursue a PhD in Intercultural Linguistics.

Registered as a full member of NRPSI (National Register of Public Service Interpreters)

Registered as a fellow member of CIOL (Chartered Institute of English Language Linguists)

Published a number of academic articles and books in the field of English language learning and teaching, and the experience of ESOL, EFL and ELL by Kurdish learners

Produced a number of articles on language assessment, ethnicity, country background and information, tribal and political issues in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Ali Kozad is a highly experienced Country Expert with over fifteen years' experience in government, diplomacy, public administration and international affairs. Drawing upon extensive first-hand experience advising on political systems, governance, state institutions and public policy, he provides independent expert reports for solicitors, barristers, tribunals and courts.

His expertise includes country conditions, political developments, government structures, public administration, diplomatic practice, civil documentation, nationality matters, state institutions and international relations. He accepts instructions in asylum, immigration, nationality, deportation, judicial review, public law and civil proceedings requiring expert evidence on country conditions and governmental matters.

His reports are impartial, evidence-based and prepared in accordance with the duties of an independent expert witness.

Extensive experience in expert reports on all the countries listed, and also in particular, Kurds in country of origin and diaspora