My primary regional expertise lies in the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and broader Sahel region (specifically Niger, Northern Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, and Mali). I also have thematic expertise on trafficking along Gulf of Aden and Red Sea transit routes, including Yemen.
I specialise in, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) claims, trafficking-related protection claims, child asylum cases, statelessness (including Rohingya claims), and Article 1F exclusion analysis under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
My reports are prepared in accordance with expert witness duties to the Tribunal as set out in the Practice Directive and are designed to assist the court with independent, evidence-based analysis. I have undertaken specialist expert witness training at the Refugee Law Initiative.
I am an international refugee law expert with over a decade of frontline experience in refugee status determination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
I have served with UNHCR across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, including Somalia (2023–2024), Niger (2024), Ethiopia (2019–2020), Tunisia (2024–2025), Egypt (2016–2017), and India (2018–2019), conducting over 2,000 assessments.
I am a UNHCR-certified trainer in investigative interviewing (PEACE model) and have delivered training to UNHCR personnel and national asylum authorities. I am also a Senior Expert on the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) roster, specialising in Countryof-Origin Information (COI) and asylum procedures.
I hold a Master’s degree in International Law from Johns Hopkins University SAIS (USA & Italy) and additional specialist certifications in international criminal law and statelessness from Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden University (The Netherlands) and Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness of the University of Melbourne (Australia).
| EUAA Senior Expert | Trauma-Informed Credibility Specialist
My primary regional expertise lies in the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and broader Sahel region (specifically Niger, Northern Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, and Mali) with thematic expertise on trafficking along the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea (Yemen) transit routes. I specialise in analysis, interviewing, SGBV and traffickingrelated claims, child asylum cases, statelessness assessment (including Rohingya claims), and 1951 Convention Article 1F exclusion analysis.
Below is a quick summary:
• Examination of protection claims
• Trauma-informed interviewing
• Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) claims
• Trafficking-related protection cases
• Claims involving draft evasion and interviews with former intelligence or security personnel
• Child asylum claims and unaccompanied minors
• Statelessness determinations, including Rohingya cases
• Article 1F exclusion analysis under the 1951 Refugee Convention • Training in investigative interviewing methodologies
I have conducted more than 2,000 investigative interviews and drafted a comparable number of protection assessments. These interviews have included a range of high-profile cases involving, former military intelligence personnel, draft evaders, government officials, scientists, and medical officers providing service in conflict zones etc.
My work has included first-instance and appeals-stage analysis, exclusion assessments (Article 1F), and complex vulnerability cases involving SGBV, trafficking, child protection, and statelessness.
In senior roles, I have conducted quality reviews of assessments, provided legal guidance, and contributed to fraud prevention and procedural integrity. I have also delivered training to UNHCR personnel and government counterparts on investigative interviewing, drafting assessment, and refugee law, and have supported procedural and capacity-building initiatives within asylum systems.
• Hindi and Urdu (professional fluency)
• Japanese (working proficiency)
• French (basic conversational)