Temesgen Gebrehiwet is an independent researcher and country expert specialising in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and the broader Horn of Africa, with particular expertise in political conditions, human rights, forced migration, and state governance structures. He holds an MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford and an LLB in Law.
He has native fluency in Tigrinya and professional fluency in Amharic, providing direct linguistic access to primary sources and community networks unavailable to most researchers. He has lived experience of the Eritrean political context, including the impact of indefinite national service conscription, restrictions on freedom of movement.
He is a researcher affiliated with Chatham House (Chatham House Academy), the Mixed Migration Centre, and has contributed to the FCDO-funded THEA programme (Ashden/Mercy Corps Europe).
ERITREA (Primary)
Temesgen has deep, first-hand knowledge of Eritrea derived from birth and upbringing in Asmara. His expertise covers: the political system and governance under the PFDJ; the system of indefinite national/military service and its legal and human rights implications; internal security structures; freedom of movement restrictions; the treatment of political dissidents, religious minorities, and persons who have evaded or deserted national service; and conditions for diaspora Eritreans including the 2% diaspora tax.
ETHIOPIA (Primary)
Temesgen has professional and research expertise in Ethiopia, including: forced displacement and refugee conditions, particularly in eastern Ethiopia (Somali Region) and camps including Kebribeyah; the political landscape, ethnic federalism, and the Tigray conflict and its aftermath; the humanitarian situation and access constraints; cross-border dynamics with Eritrea and Somalia. He has produced field research analysis and camp profiles for the FCDO-funded THEA programme (Mercy Corps Europe/Ashden) and has an active professional network in Addis Ababa.
Currently building portfolio of expert reports for immigration and asylum proceedings. Available to accept instructions immediately for first-tier tribunal country condition reports on Eritrea and Ethiopia. Prior research outputs include country condition analysis and coded interview data produced for humanitarian organisations and international funders.
Amharic — Professional fluency (spoken and written); DPSI Law qualification in progress (June 2026)
English — Full professional fluency
Tigray community (Ethiopia/Eritrea cross-border dynamics)
Afar and Saho communities (Eritrea/Ethiopia borderlands)
Somali community (eastern Ethiopia — Somali Region, refugee populations)
Eritrean national service system — legal framework, enforcement, desertion, and consequences
Eritrean opposition groups and diaspora political networks
TPLF / Tigray political structures (Ethiopia)
Federal and regional political dynamics in Ethiopia
Evangelical/Protestant Christianity in Eritrea — persecution of unregistered denominations
Islam in Eritrea and eastern Ethiopia
Eritrean failed asylum seekers — conditions and risks on return
Refugees and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa in the UK and Europe
Persons at risk due to family connections to dissidents or opposition figures
Eritrean diaspora communities in the United Kingdom