Experts on countries of origin by country

Melyn McKay (Ph.D.) is a research anthropologist specialising in religious nationalist movements, ethics, conflict and peace building. Amongst her former and current clients: the World Bank, WFP, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, EU, FCDO, USAID, DANIDA, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and numerous International NGOs. Melyn's academic interests focus on Myanmar, the far right, and religious nationalism in Asia. She has also advised and/or overseen research in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, South Sudan, Burundi, Ghana, and Guatemala. 

Dr. McNeal is an anthropologist with specialization in Caribbean ethnology and Atlantic cultural history and a long-term focus on Trinidad and Tobago. His first book — “Trance and Modernity in the Southern Caribbean: African and Hindu Popular Religions in Trinidad & Tobago” (2011, 2nd ed. 2015) — is a comparative historical ethnography of African and Hindu traditions of trance performance and spirit mediumship in the southern Caribbean, as well as the postcolonial politics of race, religion, diaspora, nationalism and multiculturalism. He has also reconstructed the history and cultural politics of Indo-Trinidadian mortuary ritual, “Death and the Problem of Orthopraxy in Caribbean Hinduism: Reconsidering the Politics and Poetics of Indo-Trinidadian Mortuary Ritual,” which is the subject of my first documentary film project. 

He is currently completing a book on men, sexuality, queer globalization and the politics of citizenship in TT, entitled “Queering the Citizen: Dispatches from Trinidad and Tobago,” in relation to which he has also conducted research in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and published several papers on queer and trans refugeeism and the political economy of Caribbean asylum-seeking in Europe. He is also working on a third book project on… Read more

I am a legal adviser and expert witness with extensive experience in immigration and asylum cases in the United States and the United Kingdom. I prepare detailed, independent reports assessing country conditions, credibility, and risk on return. My work supports courts and legal teams, and I have provided both written reports and oral testimony. I focus on delivering objective, well researched analysis to assist fair decision making.

Hugh Miles is an award-winning journalist, consultant, and founder with over 20 years of localised experience in Cairo researching Arab society, politics, and security. Named Times / Sky News Young Journalist of the Year, his reporting has been featured by the BBC, The New York Times, and The Guardian. 

Leveraging his deep regional expertise, Mr. Miles advises governments and multilateral institutions. He provides ongoing briefing sessions to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on organised crime and media environments and contributes to the US State Department and EU-funded Global Organised Crime Index.

As an entrepreneur, he is the founder of Al Shafie Miles, an expert consultancy that has advised blue-chip companies and the UNHCR across North Africa, and Arab Digest, an elite geopolitical intelligence network whose membership spans the UN, the UK Prime Minister's Office, Barclays, and Ivy League universities. He is fluent in Arabic and French.

Dr. Talia Mills received her PhD from King's College London in Geography and Master of Science from the London School of Economics in Gender, Development and Globalization. Her research focuses on the multiple forms of gendered violence that intersect across the displacement process in Mexico and Central America. She publishes on topics related to such violence including the gendered dimensions of impunity in seeking asylum as well as migrant women's resistance to violence in Mexico. In addition, she is an experienced program and project evaluator with areas of expertise in sexual and reproductive health, gender & climate change, gender-based violence and refugee protection. She works and conducts research in Mexico where she has lived since 2016.   

The expert has prepared hundreds of expert opinions on Pakistani Law matters for English Law firms and is an expert on all Political Groups in Pakistan.

The Expert is a former Independent Contractor for the U.S. Embassy in London, specializing in political and media monitoring, screening, and translation. With a background that includes roles in both administration and education, the Expert has also served as a Lecturer at university colleges in Kosovo. His career reflects a broad range of experience in political monitoring and related fields. As a country of origin expert witness, he has authored over 100 expert reports in the past four years and brings 23 years of professional experience to the role.

I am an international practitioner working across Africa and the Middle East, supporting complex cross-border and regional matters. My work is grounded in practical experience, cultural awareness, and careful judgment in sensitive situations.

Caribbean expert (Trinidad & Tobago focused) with a multifaceted background spanning human rights advocacy, project management, staff association leadership, protection assistance, and executive support. Demonstrated expertise in developing and executing advocacy campaigns, managing projects with precision, fostering inclusive workplace environments, and providing crucial support in diplomatic settings. Adept at strategic collaboration, effective communication, and impactful advocacy, dedicated to driving positive change and ensuring organizational objectives are met with excellence. Passionate about amplifying marginalized voices, empowering communities, and promoting human rights on both local and global scales.

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. Monticello is a biocultural medical anthropologist with interests in gender and sexuality, physical and mental health, global mental health, and how global and local social, political, and cultural processes “get under the skin” to produce variation health outcomes. His dissertation research was funded by Fulbright and the National Science Foundation. It focused on how young South Korean men’s ability to conform to their cultural models of the ideal male body affected their vulnerability to disordered eating. Intersectional analysis of sexuality and education revealed different levels of vulnerability and different relationships with body ideals. He is currently a postdoctoral research scholar at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is continuing my research on South Korean men’s body image alongside new, exciting work in eating disorders prevention and obesity treatment.

Dr. Madalena F. Monteban is a medical anthropologist specializing in maternal and child health, indigenous knowledge systems, food security, and structural inequality. She earned her Ph.D. in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology from the University of Georgia and is currently a Research Associate with Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), based at the Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Argentina, Peru, and Bolivia. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Argentina's National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion, resulting in over 15 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports on health access disparities, discrimination, food insecurity, and public health systems.

Kawa Morad (MA, PhD) is a lecturer in social anthropology, based in Exeter, with a focus on forced migration and/in the Middle East. He has extensive experience in providing language analysis and country expert reports on internal displacement, gender-based violence, medical/psychiatric care and access, statelessness, LGBTQ+ communities and others in Syria, Iraq, and Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

After a PhD defended at EHESS (France) Xavier Moyet worked at IFRA as Scientific Director. Consequently, he worked for Universities of Toronto, Kent and Leeds, notably as a research associate and was involved in several significant projects. He is presently a consultant and collaborates for instance with the National Museum of Unity in Ibadan, or Tunde Odunlade Art Gallery. He is French, with a sound knowledge of Canadian and UK societies.

20 years experience in translation and knowledge in migration and displacement, 4 years ECOSOC representative for NGO at the human right council at UN-GENEVE and 10 years experience with humanitarian agencies and the world bank

Mayilvaganan, M., PhD is an Independent Analyst and Director of Center for Human Security and International Affairs (CHSIA). His research interests focus on political, strategic and security issues concerning South and Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific region, Borderlands and the Non-Traditional Security Issues. 

Prior to this, Dr. Mayil was an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, India, where he oversaw research projects on the Indo-Pacific, Borderland studies, Non-Traditional Security Challenges (such as Migration, Refugees, Climate Change, & Public Health, etc.), Human Rights & Humanitarian Issues, and World Politics in general. He was also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, India, where he taught South Asia in International Relations, Modern Warfare, and International Politics. Other positions he held included Associate Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi, India, with a focus on Sri Lanka, and Research Associate at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi, India, with an emphasis on Kashmir. Additionally, he spent sometime as a researcher in Canada and the U.S.. 

He holds a PhD degree from the School of… Read more

Mayilvaganan, M., PhD is an Independent Analyst and Director of Center for Human Security and International Affairs (CHSIA). His research interests focus on political, strategic and security issues concerning South and Southeast Asia, Indo-Pacific region, Borderlands and the Non-Traditional Security Issues. 

Prior to this, Dr. Mayil was an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, India, where he oversaw research projects on the Indo-Pacific, Borderland studies, Non-Traditional Security Challenges (such as Migration, Refugees, Climate Change, & Public Health, etc.), Human Rights & Humanitarian Issues, and World Politics in general. He was also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, India, where he taught South Asia in International Relations, Modern Warfare, and International Politics. Other positions he held included Associate Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi, India, with a focus on Sri Lanka, and Research Associate at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi, India, with an emphasis on Kashmir. Additionally, he spent sometime as a researcher in Canada and the U.S.. 

He holds a PhD degree from the School of… Read more

Anastasiia Mykolenko is a Ukrainian anthropologist and legal professional specializing in forced displacement, refugee reception, and protection in Eastern Europe. Based in Montréal, she is completing a PhD in Anthropology at the Université de Montréal and holds advanced degrees in European and international law. Her research and consulting work focus on how people navigate war, borders, and bureaucratic systems, with extensive fieldwork along the Polish–Ukrainian border and engagement in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. She has worked as a Senior Analyst & Fieldwork Coordinator on multi-country projects related to displacement and gender-based violence, and as a Protection Assistant with an international NGO at the Polish–Ukrainian border.

Anastasiia combines country-of-origin knowledge with strong analytical and writing skills, producing clear, evidence-based reports for NGOs, donors, and institutional partners. She has hands-on experience with refugee and asylum issues, including community-based legal support in Montréal, and in-depth expertise on vulnerable and marginalized groups such as Roma/Romani communities, women at risk, LGBTQI+ persons, and human rights defenders. She works in English, French, Ukrainian, Russian, Polish (and… Read more

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