Experts on countries of origin by country

A Middle East specialist, Riad trains, advises, lectures, and researches such topics as Business, Politics, and Migration, inter alia, publishing on them and others, as well as making media contributions. He holds a High School Diploma from l’École internationale de Genève; a BA from the American University of Beirut, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and an MLitt from the University of Oxford, Faculty of Social Studies. Among other present positions he is Country of Origin Information expert for the Fahamu Refugee Program, Oxford; Special Advisor to the Global Challenges Forum, Geneva; and board associate, SUNSGLOW Global Training in the Rule of Law, New York City. He is fluent in Arabic and English, with a strong knowledge of French. 

C. Christine Fair is a Professor in the Security Studies Program within Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She previously served as a senior political scientist with the RAND Corporation, a political officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in Kabul, and a senior research associate at the United States Institute of Peace.  Her most recent book is In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2018/2019).  She has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books, including Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War (Oxford University Press); Pakistan’s Enduring Challenges (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents (Oxford University Press, 2014); Political Islam and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2010); Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan (USIP, 2008), and The Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States (Globe Pequot, 2008), among others.  

She is a member of Women in International Security, International Studies… Read more

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… Read more

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.

Dr. Ginzburg is a practicing medical anthropologist and public health professional, with a focus on mental health and health equity research. She has published research on mental health, stigma, syndemics, chronic illness, obesity, food insecurity, environmental health, and community-based participatory research.

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

CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd, is an experienced advocate in the appellate court of Egypt. With over 12 years of practice, they specialize in various legal areas, including Egyptian Civil Law, human rights, domestic abuse, trade regulations, criminal law, and Sharea (Islamic Law). They collaborate closely with lawyers, judges, and the Ministry of Interior on national security and civil registration cases. Additionally, they provide reports related to human rights, asylum, gender violence, and political persecution.

China expert with a passion for driving change through international project coordination, communication, and journalism. Thrived in roles spanning environmental advocacy, poverty reduction, and news editing, harnessing expertise from esteemed organizations like UNDP, Greenpeace, and Xinhua News Agency. Adept at public engagement, campaign support, and impactful content creation, consistently resonating with diverse global audiences. Known for fostering cross-cultural collaboration and delivering compelling messaging that sparks action and drives meaningful impact.

Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler is an Associate Professor in International Refugee Law and co-Chair of LGBTQIA+ staff network (University of Reading, UK). 

He is Associate Academic Fellow of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple; Research Associate, Refugee Studies Centre (Oxford); Editor, the Reporter, Society of Legal Scholars (UK & Ireland) and member of its Executive; Senior Research Associate, Refugee Law Initiative (Institute for Advanced Legal Study) and editor of its Working Paper Series; Co-Convenor, ‘Migration and Exclusion Under Constitutions’ Research Group, International Association of Constitutional Law; Visiting Professor (University of Johannesburg, Hebrew University).