Skip to main content

Experts on countries of origin by country

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

Chaudhary, Dr. Nishu

The Expert is a Sub-Saharan Africa specialist with extensive experience in Country Operations Management, Resource Mobilization, Business Development, Communications and Advocacy across multiple countries with leading international NGOs.

Occupation: The Expert is a Sub-Saharan Africa specialist with extensive experience in Country Operations Management, Resource Mobilization, Business Development, Communications and Advocacy across multiple countries with leading international NGOs. She holds a Ph.D. in Grief Counseling, American International Theism University, Florida, The United States (2020- 2023).
Countries of expertise: Djibouti, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

Christian, Dr. Patrick James

The Expert is a psychoanalytical anthropologist of violent ethnic & cultural conflict in Eurasia, South Asia, Middle East, Central and South America, West Africa, North Africa and the Horn of Africa with experience working in military, diplomatic, and humanitarian interventions in intra-state violent conflicts.

Occupation: Psychoanalytical Anthropologist
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Western Sahara, Yemen

Faruqi, Daanish

Dr. Daanish Faruqi is a Visiting Researcher at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.  A scholar of migration and mobility in the Middle East and North Africa, he has leveraged his expertise both in academia and in international development. At Georgetown he researches democracy promotion and conflict resolution through transnational religious humanitarianism. Relying on fieldwork with transnational humanitarian NGOS immediately following the 2023 Syrian/Turkish earthquake, his latest writing deals with the viability of religious humanitarianism in effectively managing refugee crises. He has a forthcoming interview with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on this project and its potential for peace building.

He completed his Ph.D. from Duke University, where he wrote his dissertation on the role of Syrian Sufi religious scholars in joining the 2011 uprising against Bashar al-Assad. Through several years of ethnographic and historical fieldwork in Morocco, Turkey, and Jordan, conducting hundreds of Arabic-language interviews, his work revealed the role of 19th century migration from North Africa to Damascus in informing contemporary Syrian… Read more

Occupation:
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, West Bank

Fatah, Dr Rebwar

The Expert has worked as an expert witness on the Middle East, producing Country Expert Reports (CER) for the past 20 years.

The Expert has produced on average between 200-300 reports each year on the MENA region for British, European, and US courts.

The Expert’s areas of expertise include tribal issues, gender-based violence, security issues, extremist groups and militias, human rights law and violations, the situation for minorities, trafficking, and the availability of medical services. In addition to CERs,

The Expert also authenticates documents from the region, and conducts nationality and ethnicity reports in order to assess the likely origin of an individual within MENA.

The Expert is able to conduct nationality assessments in Arabic, Farsi, Sorani, and Bahdini/Kurmanji.

Occupation: Director – Middle East Consultancy Services
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

George, Alan

Academic with expertise on many countries in the Middle East

Occupation: Consultant, writer, journalist. Senior Associate Member, St Antony’s College, Oxford University.
Countries of expertise: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Yemen

Ghobadi, Dr Kaveh

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

Occupation: Independent Researcher
Countries of expertise: Iran, Iraq, Iraq (Kurdistan Regional Government), Syria, Turkey

Giustozzi, Dr. Antonio

Expert on Afghanistan with experience of producing several hundred expert reports on asylum cases from 2004 onwards on all aspects of Afghanistan. Has acted as expert witness in trials in the UK, US, Australia and the Netherlands. From 2014 he has produced over 100 reports on Pakistani asylum seekers. From 2019 he started producing reports on Syria and Iraq and in 2020 he started producing reports on Iran. Has published extensively (boors, papers, journal articles and media) on many topics related to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran and Iraq.

Occupation: Independent Researcher and Analyst, affiliated with King’s College London and the Royal United Services Institute
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria

Hafidh, Dr Hasan

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

Occupation: Lecturer in Comparative Politics of the Middle East (Gulf Specialism), Expert of Islamic Countries
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Laizer, Sheri J

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

Occupation: Freelance writer & broadcast journalist since 1985 specializing in the Near East; photographer; political commentator, Middle East country of origin specialist
Countries of expertise: Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Syria, Turkey

Miles, Hugh

Expert on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Qatar and UAE. Award-winning freelance journalist and author, presenter, producer and consultant specialising in the Middle East. Born in Jedda, Saudi Arabia and studied Arabic at Pembroke College, Oxford University.

Occupation: Author, Journalist and Consultant
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates

Muhammed , Mr Rajal

A Syrian Kurdish citizen and an Arabic-English translator who has lived in Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish parts of Kurdistan and has first-hand knowledge of the languages and dialects spoken there. 

Occupation: Linguist and Translator - Registered, legally sworn Translator
Countries of expertise: Syria

Panjwani, Dr Imranali

Dr. Imranali Panjwani is the Head of Diverse Legal Consulting, UK (www.diverselegal.com) and a Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford, Essex. He has the unique combination of being a lawyer and academic having lived and worked in the UK, Middle East and Australia. His country expert reports draw upon primary country and theological sources with stringent analysis of evidence, law and language. He resides in the UK.

Occupation: Head of Diverse Legal Consulting, UK & Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Gaza Strip, India, Iran, Iraq, Iraq (Kurdistan Regional Government), Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, West Bank, Yemen

Phelps, Dr. Sandra

The Expert is a Gender & Social Inclusion International Development specialist across multiple global south countries - She holds a Ph.D. in Gender & Postcolonial Studies, University of Sydney, Australia, 2005.

The Expert is an experienced senior consultant and academic with 15+ years in educational program design and management across humanitarian and development sectors, including democracy, education, civil society, and government collaboration in diverse global regions. Her expertise in creating effective development programs with a focus on inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.

Occupation: The Expert is a Gender & Social Inclusion International Development specialist across multiple global south countries - She holds a Ph.D. in Gender & Postcolonial Studies, University of Sydney, Australia, 2005.
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Australia, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia

Rahimi, Sadeq

The Expert’s research and publication interests have covered diverse aspects of culture, health and subjectivity ranging from collective self-esteem and perception of racism to schizophrenia and culture, political subjectivity, radicalization, clinical trials, behavioral economics, and artificial intelligence.

Occupation: Anthropologist, psychotherapist
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Canada, France, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America

Sturdee, Nick

BBC journalist, film-maker and broadcaster with extensive experience of travelling to and investigating human rights abuses in Russia, including Chechnya, Belarus and other parts of the former USSR. Also considerable experience working with victims of human rights abuses in location in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Israel / Palestine, China, Turkey and Cuba.

Occupation: BBC Journalist, documentary film-maker, broadcaster
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iraq, Myanmar, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Tabishat, Professor Mohammed

The Expert earned his Ph.D. from Cambridge University and currently holds the position of Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Social Science at Qatar University. Prior to this, he has undertaken a series of significant roles, including:

Head of Research Unit and Associate Professor of Social Sciences at CAS, Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman, from 2019 to 2022. Director of the Language Centre & International Relations at Madaba University from 2018 to 2019. Visiting Faculty and Head of Future Forum at Ajman University, UAE, during 2017-2018. Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at AUC, Cairo, Egypt, from 2010 to 2017. Assistant Professor at United Arab Emirates University, UAE, spanning from 2004 to 2010. Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Dickinson College, PA, during 2003-2004. Visiting Assistant Professor of Media Arabic at NYU, NYC, from 2002 to 2003. Adjunct Professor of Arabic at Columbia University in NYC in 1999-2000.
Occupation: Consultant, anthropologist, professor
Countries of expertise: Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Syria, Yemen