Staff
Our staff are drawn from across the world and a variety of legal traditions. The Secretariat is based in Switzerland, with offices in Thailand, Belgium, Nepal and Tunisia.
Secretary General
Santiago A. Canton
Secretary General
Santiago A. Canton is an Argentine jurist with an extensive career in working to advance human rights, the rule of law and democracy. He was Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR and Executive Director of the human rights program of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He was also Chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and developed a close relationship with the regional human rights intergovernmental organisations. He served as Secretary of Human Rights for the Province of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and in 2005, Mr. Canton was awarded the Inter-American Press Association´s Chapultepec Grand Prize for his contributions to the promotion, development, strengthening, and defence of the principles of freedom of expression. Santiago Canton has been Senior Fellow of the Peter D. Bell Rule of Law Program at the Inter-American Dialogue and an international visiting scholar at American University, Washington College of Law. He holds a law degree from the University of Buenos Aires and a master’s degree in International Law from the Washington College of Law of American University.
Legal & Policy Office
Ian Seiderman
Legal and Policy Director
Ian Seiderman has served with the ICJ from 2000 – 2005 and from 2008 to present. He served as Senior Legal Adviser for Amnesty International from 2005 – 2008. He has advised both organisations on a broad range of legal and policy questions in the areas of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. From 1994 – 1997, he was legal assistant to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Sir Nigel Rodley. He also served as a researcher for the Netherlands Institute of Human rights and as a staff attorney with the US-based Central American Refugee Center. He holds a PhD cum laude (Utrecht University); LLM (Essex University); JD (City University of New York at Queens College) and BA (University of Pennsylvania).
Livio Zilli
Deputy Programme Director
Livio joined the ICJ in September 2013. Until mid-2013 he was the Acting Head of the refugee and migrant rights team at the international secretariat of Amnesty International in London. Livio was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2007, and is an honorary member of Garden Court Chambers in London where he practised as a barrister until 2010 focussing on asylum and immigration, criminal and public law. Before going to the bar, Livio worked at the international secretariat of Amnesty International where, since the mid-90s, he was employed in various capacities, including as researcher until 2007. Livio holds an L.L.M. in international human rights law from the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Sandra Epal-Ratjen
International Advocacy Director
Sandra Epal-Ratjen worked with the ICJ as the Head of the Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights between 2010 and 2015. Between 2015 and 2023, she served as the International Advocacy Director and Deputy Executive Director of Franciscans International (FI), where she was directly involved in international standard-setting processes on business and human rights, and environment and human rights. Previous to this, she worked for over 10 years for Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN) International, based in Heidelberg, Germany. Sandra has extensive experience and expertise in international legal and advocacy processes, especially in the areas of economic, social and cultural rights, access to justice, business and human rights and environmental justice. She holds a Master’s degree in French and International Public Law and International Relations from the University of Grenoble, France. She has authored numerous publications and papers on the issues of human rights, development and access to justice, and regularly lectures at universities and academic institutions, including the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and Sciences Po Paris.
Nikunja Nepal
Programme Manager
Nikunja Nepal is the Programme Manager for LPO and the Donor Outreach Team. Nikunja has over a decade of experience in leading and implementing programs with a range of thematic focus areas on Development and Human Rights. Nikunja brings strong program, partnership and grant management experience from more than a dozen countries in Asia, North America and Africa where she has worked in close collaboration with local organisations in areas such as gender based violence, access to justice, promotion and protection of human rights, leadership development, resilience building and economic development. She has a Masters degree in Sociology from the University of Montreal.
Kate Vigneswaran
Global Accountability Initiative Lead
Kate is an Australian qualified lawyer and an international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law expert who has advocated for accountability for violations of international law in multiple country contexts. Previously, Kate worked for the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (‘ICTY’) on numerous trial and appeal cases, as a senior expert with the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (‘UNODC’) on multi-year programmes in Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia, and as a legal advisor to the UK Ministry of Justice’s Human Rights Unit. She has also worked with numerous human rights NGOs documenting and reporting on violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law in countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia; building the capacity of justice system actors and civil society to address impunity; and advocating for reforms of law, policies and practices necessary to prevent, deter and remedy crimes.
Raquel Saavedra
Legal Advisor
Raquel is an international human rights attorney specializing in accountability for atrocity crimes.
Sher Alam Ibrahimi
Legal Consultant
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Jessica Hajj
Finance Officer
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Europe and Central Asia Programme
Temur Shakirov
Director ad interim & Senior Legal Adviser
Temur Shakirov specialises in international law with a focus on criminal justice process, fair trial, independence of judges and lawyers and implementation of international human rights obligations by States. Temur joined the Europe and CIS Programme of the ICJ in Geneva in early 2009. He has carried out research, missions and other work related to the justice system, focusing particularly on CIS States including the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Central Asian and others. Temur obtained his LL.M from Washington College of Law of the American University in DC. He previously graduated from the Tashkent State Institute of Law and the Uzbek World Languages University. Before joining the ICJ Temur worked at the Tashkent City Bar Association and the ABA/CEELI in Uzbekistan.
Karolína Babická
Senior Legal Adviser
Karolína Babická is Legal Adviser in the European Programme, following human rights issues related to asylum and migration, children’s rights, rule of law or counter-terrorism. She contributes to legal analysis, capacity building for legal professionals, research and advocacy work. Before joining the ICJ in 2016, Karolína worked in various NGOs in Brussels and in Prague. She holds a PhD in international and European law from Charles University in Prague and the Certificate of European Asylum and Migration Law from the Odysseus Network, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Luna Dejeneffe
Programme Manager
Luna Dejeneffe is providing support to the work of the Europe and Central Asia Programme Director and Legal Advisers, in close collaboration with the Brussels’ team, the staff based in Geneva and elsewhere in the region. Luna has good experience in directing and coordinating regional programmes and collaborating in the fields of Migration, Awareness raising, Education and Immigration Detention. Besides, she has managed development cooperation projects in diverse sectors such as Governance, Gender, Security, and Communications. Luna holds a Master’s degree in International Development, Humanitarian Action, Migration & Asylum from University Carlos III in Madrid.
Elina Hammarström
Associate Legal Adviser
Elina is a qualified lawyer holding LL.M. degrees specialising in international human rights and humanitarian law from the Geneva Academy and Lund University, Sweden. Elina’s previous experience stems from among others the ICRC, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, and civil society. She joined the ICJ in 2024 and works on a variety of human rights issues, including children’s rights, asylum and migration, criminal justice, gender equality and the rule of law.
Mouna Raouani
Finance Officer
Mouna Raouani Joined ICJ ECA programme in January 2022, She holds a Bachelor’s and A Master’s degree in Accountancy and she has held increasingly responsible roles supporting the finance and accounts functions in both private and non-profit sector, possessing more than 9 years of experience in key positions in the accounts and finance department including working as a Finance Officer in the ICJ MENA programme. She has managed to gain an extensive insight within this field. Right now, she is working at ICJ Brussels office, managing the finances of the ECA Programme.
Kerem Altiparmak
Senior Legal Consultant, Turkey & Ukraine
Kerem Altiparmak has LLB (1995) and LLM (1998) degrees from Ankara University and a PhD degree from Leeds University (2002). He was the Director of the Human Rights Centre of the Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences until October 2017. He has also worked in a number of human rights projects with human rights NGOs, especially with the Human Rights Joint Platform in Turkey. He also worked with Prof. Yaman Akdeniz (İstanbul Bilgi University) in a number of freedom of expression projects. He won Turkish Publishers Association Award (2014), Halit Çelenk Legal Prize (2015), Columbia Global Freedom of Expression Award (2016) and Press Association of Turkey Press Freedom Prize (2016) with Professor Yaman Akdeniz. He was also the recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights & the Rule of Law in 2017.
Laura Duchamp
Administrative Assistant
Laura has legal experience in immigration law, family law, and children’s right protection, having worked for a law firm. Interested in Human Rights and Justice, she also has knowledge and experience of researching, proposing, and drafting fundraising activities. Laura holds a double bachelor’s degree in public law and political science from the University of Lyon 2 (France), as well as a Master’s degree in Fundamental Rights Practice from the University of Aix-Marseille (France).
Cristina Giacomin
Legal Intern
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Mason Barnard
Legal Intern
Sabohat Ergasheva
Project Officer, Uzbekistan
Sabohat Ergasheva is working as part of the ICJ Europe & Central Asia Programme in implementing activities in Central Asia, as well as support grant management and project administrative aspects. As Project Officer, Sabohat assists with the organisation of missions, seminars and other events, conducts the dissemination of all relevant materials, and liaises with relevant project stakeholders to ensure implementation of project activities. Holder of bachelor’s degree on Teaching, Sabohat worked in Tashkent in a number of international representations such as US Embassy, EU Delegation, World Bank, Project HOPE USAID as an Office Assistant.
Sitora Rakhimova
Junior Legal Consultant, Uzbekistan
Sitora Rakhimova is a Junior Legal Researcher, carrying out research on issues and cases related to economic, social, and cultural rights in Uzbekistan. She also contributes to drafting ICJ Europe & Central Asia Programme statements, briefings, press-releases, advocacy papers on the issues related to the implementation of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Uzbekistan, as well as reports and legal interventions before International Human Rights bodies. Sitora had her undergraduate and master’s degrees in international law at UWED (the University of World Economy and Diplomacy). She also studied Sociology of Law at Lund University in Sweden. Previously, she worked as a National Consultant on engagement with national human rights bearers and UN HRMs at OHCHR ROCA (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Regional Office for Central Asia).
Dilfuza Kurolova
Legal & Public Relations Consultant, Uzbekistan
Dilfuza is a human rights lawyer and professional mediator on civil and labour cases. She is also a part of the Social Development Team of the World Bank on citizen engagement. She worked at various NGOs, diplomatic institutions, international organizations and government organizations. In 2022-23 she was one of the authors of the GBV-law in Uzbekistan which criminalized domestic violence in the country in April 2023. Dilfuza has a Master`s Degree in Politics and Security (OSCE Academy in Bishkek) and Law (Tashkent State University of Law), and is a founder of Global Shapers Tashkent Hub (2020), youth initiative of the WEF.
Parvina Navruzova
Legal Consultant, Tajikistan
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Alona Klochko
Legal Intern
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Middle East and North Africa
Saïd Benarbia
Director
Saïd Benarbia leads the ICJ research, advocacy and litigation work in the MENA region. For the past 18 years, he has designed and implemented strategic initiatives on the applicability of international humanitarian and human rights laws during armed conflicts, justice and Rule of Law reform, accountability for serious crimes under international, women’s access to justice, combating impunity for sexual and gender-based violence, and human rights and counter-terrorism measures. He has authored numerous reports and articles on these topics, and is an expert in the areas of criminal justice reform, transitional justice, constitutional reform, detention and fair trial rights and counter-terrorism and the rule of law. Prior to joining the ICJ, Saïd worked for the International Law and Legal Department of the International Organization for Migration. He has a degree in International Law from Fez University, Morocco, an LLM in Public Law from the Bourgogne University, France, and an LLM in European Law and Studies from the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Shehrazade El-Hajjar
Legal Researcher
Shehrazade is a Public law expert with more than six years of experience in the academic, legal advisory, research and project management fields in Lebanon. She contributed to the drafting of impactful national laws and policies, while also coordinating and advocating with key stakeholders. She has been working for the past 3 years as a legal consultant for UNICEF, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the “Legal Agenda”, a Beirut-based nonprofit research and advocacy organisation. Shehrazade has been also working at Saint-Joseph University as an Instructor in Public Law part-time, and as Researcher on the Reform of the Lebanese administration project. Shehrazade has a master’s degree in Public Law from Panthéon-Assas University in Paris, and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Law at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut.
Stephen Collins
Legal Adviser
Stephen has more than 10 years of professional experience in the human rights field both as a practising Solicitor-Advocate and Senior Legal, Policy and Advocacy Officer. His legal practice has centred on extradition, criminal defence, and UNHCR proceedings in Egypt under the UN and AU refugee conventions. Stephen also has experience engaging with UN treaty bodies, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures mandate-holders, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice. Stephen holds a master’s in law from the University of Bristol with a specialisation in international human rights law. He has written several publications on international law and child labour, and the criminalisation of homelessness.
Aurora Mela
Programme Manager
Aurora previously worked with NGOs such as Humanity and Inclusion (HI) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Sub-Saharan and North Africa. She has led programme development processes for a range of donors, supported active fundraising, managed partnership processes, and ensured compliance with various institutional donor regulations. She led a cross-border program implemented by 5 NGOs in Mali and Mauritania in areas such as social protection, nutrition, livelihoods, governance, and social cohesion, with a focus on mainstreaming protection, inclusion, gender, and conflict sensitivity. Aurora has a bachelor’s degree in political science, International Relations and Human Rights, from Padua University, Faculty of Political Science, and a master’s degree in Institutions and Politics of Human Rights and Peace from Padua University, Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies.
Mustapha Ghariani
Administrative Assistant
Mustapha has provided comprehensive administrative support to executives and teams in fast-paced environments thanks to his knowledge of Human Resources, office administration management systems and procedures. He holds a National Diploma and a University Degree in language, civilization and English literature from the Central University of Tunis and the High institute of Language of Tunis.
Pauline Baranes
Snr Legal Adviser
Pauline is a senior lawyer specialised in international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law. Prior to joining the ICJ she worked with the UN as a judicial affairs officer and was also a Legal Officer with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the International Criminal Court. She has a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement from the Sorbonne and a degree in International Affairs from Science Po.
Juliette Remond-Tiedrez
Legal Researcher
Juliette is a qualified lawyer in France. Before joining the ICJ, she worked as a research fellow for the British Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and as a consultant for Human Rights Watch. She holds a Master’s in Public International Law from the University of Leiden and a Master’s in Criminal Law from Sorbonne University.
Roueid Abada
Finance Officer
Roueid has 7 years’ experience in a variety of finance roles, both in the private sector and NGOs, and most recently with ACTED as Finance Projects unit Manager in Lebanon. He gained proven skills in internal accounting management, reporting, budget development, risk assessment and financial strategy reviews.
Africa
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh
Director
Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh is a South African lawyer. She joined the ICJ in October 2020. She holds the B.Proc LLB degrees from the University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu Natal). She was employed at Lawyers for Human Rights (South Africa) from 2002 – 2014 where she initially headed the Immigration Detention Monitoring Unit from 2002 – 2007 and thereafter as Manager of the Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme from 2007 – 2014. She was the Executive Director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre from 2015 – 2020 where she led many strategic litigation cases focussing on various human rights issues, and in particular, judicial independence, Rule of Law, international criminal justice, freedom of expression and association. Kaajal was employed at the International Organization for Migration from 2001 – 2002. She has significant experience and expertise in the fields of asylum and refugee protection, migration, citizenship and statelessness. She also has experience in international criminal justice and freedom of expression. Kaajal sits probono on several boards of non-profit organisations. She was previously Board Chair of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa from 2007 – 2011. She sat on the board of the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network from 2017 – 2020. She currently sits on the boards of the Centre for Child Law, South African History Archive, Sonke Gender Justice and is the Board Chair of Freedom House’s Advancing Rights in Southern Africa Programme.
Mulesa Lumina
Legal and Communications Associate Officer
Mulesa joined the ICJ in March 2022 as a communications and legal consultant. Her work with the ICJ entails designing and implementing the communications strategy for the ICJ Africa Regional Programme, as well as the other ICJ teams as part of the global communications team. She also conducts substantive research on a wide range of human rights issues in support of the Africa office’s legal advocacy activities. She obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Cape Town and a Master of Laws in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria. Before joining the ICJ, she had previously done work as a consultant for the Centre for Human Rights (University of Pretoria) and the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, a social media strategist for Pomegranite Consulting Ltd, a blog and media editor for the Business and Human Rights Journal and an intern at Human Rights Network Uganda (HURINET-U). She is also a Women Deliver Young Leader Alumna and Mentor with the For Women in Law mentorship programme.
Timothy Fish Hodgson
Legal Adviser, ESC Rights
Tim joined the ICJ in October 2017. He is responsible for designing and implementing ICJ’s work around Economic, Social and Cultural rights in Africa and assists with ICJ’s global work on ESC rights and has worked in a range of countries including South Africa, Swaziland, India, Myanmar and Uzbekistan. Before joining the ICJ, he worked as a Senior Researcher at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (2016 – 2017); as a Legal Researcher at SECTION27 (2013 – 2016); and as a law clerk for Justice Zakeria Yacoob at the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2011 – 2012). Tim has published various opinion pieces, book chapters, research reports, submissions to state and institutions, and peer-reviewed journal articles. He holds a Bachelor of Business Science (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Cape Town. He also holds a Master of Laws from the University of Michigan (2013) and a Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford (2017, with Distinction). Tim’s Master’s dissertation for this programme is titled ‘The Right to Inclusive Education in South Africa: Recreating Disability Apartheid through Failed Inclusion Policies’’. Twitter: @TimFish42.
Nomah Zibengwa
International Finance Officer
Nomah joined the ICJ in August 2018. She prepares financial reports for internal and external use and ensures the accuracy between narrative and financial reports to facilitate smooth audits for the ICJ. She has extensive experience in financial monitoring and tracking during implementation of projects to ensure compliance with organisational policies and guidelines as well as contractual obligations as per agreements with donors. Prior to joining ICJ, she has committed over 15 years of her career in serving the NGO sector in different capacities in the financial and grants management roles. She has worked at the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (INERELA+) Secretariat in South Africa from 2011 to 2018 where she rose to head the network’s financial and compliance functions. Between 2002 and 2010 she worked in Zimbabwe for the UZ-UCSF Research Programme, RfH and SIRDC. A member of the Institute of Risk Management South Africa, she holds a Bachelor of Accountancy Honours degree and is in the final stages of completing an international qualification in corporate governance and company secretaryship.
Wilson Macharia
Legal Associate
Wilson holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi, a Master of Laws (with Distinction) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and is currently doing an LLD at the University of Pretoria. He has also undertaken several advanced human rights courses, and developed publications on various subjects, specifically on disability rights. Wilson is an Associate Legal Advisor with the International Commission of Jurists, where he co-leads the global and regional legal advocacy projects on the rights of persons with disabilities. He has previously worked as a Project Officer and Tutor at the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, where he coordinated the Access to Justice project; and contributed to the #RatifyADRP and the Tech4Rights campaigns. As a disability inclusion specialist, Wilson has been involved in designing and implementing key projects aimed at eliminating the barriers that impede the participation of marginalized and special interest groups. This includes consulting for the World Bank Group, and supporting the development of the Kenyan Standards on accessibility of ICT products and services. As a disability rights self-advocate, Wilson has employed various advocacy strategies to promote the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities, including through litigation.
Marishet Hamza
Legal Research Consultant
Marishet is a well-established researcher on the rights of persons with disabilities, with 8 years of work experience as an academician, researcher, advocate, and lawyer. Marishet works with the ARP team to research and promote the rights of persons with disabilities in Africa.
Asia & the Pacific
Melissa Upreti
Director
Melissa Upreti is an internationally recognized human rights lawyer who has spent over two decades promoting accountability for human rights by using national, regional and international law and mechanisms, and engaging with governments and civil society. She was appointed to the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, a Special Procedure of the Human Rights Council, in 2017. She served as Chair of the Working Group from 2021 – 2022 and is currently a Member of this Expert Group. She previously held leadership positions including as Senior Director of Program and Advocacy at the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers University (2017 – 2022,) where she focused on ending violence and harassment in the workplace and on addressing femicide. From 2000 – 2016, she led and established the Asia program at the Centre for Reproductive Rights, setting up the South Asia Reproductive Justice and Accountability Initiative (SARJAI), which produced legal precedents which have spurred law reform and accountability for reproductive rights in South Asia. Melissa has been notably affiliated with the University of Toronto Law Faculty’s International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program as a Fellow since 2017, and as Strategic Advisor to the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI), since 2020. She has law degrees from India and Columbia Law School in the United States.
Reema Omer
Senior Legal Adviser, South Asia
Reema is a lawyer from Pakistan. She did an LLM specialising in public international law at the University of Cambridge in 2009. She was awarded the Commonwealth Pegasus scholarship in 2010 where she worked in barristers’ chambers in London on human rights cases. Reema joined the ICJ in 2011 as a South Asia consultant and since 2013 has served as ICJ’s International Legal Adviser for Pakistan, based in Lahore. Reema is a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and writes regularly for national and international publications on issues of human rights, the Rule of Law and social justice.
Sanhawan Srisod
Legal Adviser, Thailand
Sanhawan is a lawyer with background in international humanitarian law and experience working on humanitarian issues in the violence-plagued deep south of Thailand with the ICRC. She also worked on an Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons to strengthen national and regional (ASEAN) capacity of criminal justice responses to human trafficking. She has worked with a number of organisations dedicated to helping refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand, i.e. UNHCR and Asylum Access. She also worked in a law firm and was heavily involved in several high profile international cases. She got her LL.M. in Public International Law from Leiden University, the Netherlands, and her LL.B. in Laws from Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand.
Daron Tan
Associate Legal Adviser, Southeast Asia
Daron joined the ICJ in January 2021, implementing the ICJ’s work on digital rights and internet freedom in Southeast Asia. He previously led a team of lawyers at Asylum Access Thailand as a frontline legal aid provider to refugees and asylum seekers. He has also previously worked with and consulted for ILGA World, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Center for Asylum Protection. He holds a BA (Jurisprudence) from the University of Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours as an Ann Kennedy Scholar, and an LL.M from Columbia Law School, graduating as a Global Public Service Fellow and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Cholticha Romruen
International Finance Officer, Asia & Pacific
Cholticha (Nong) initially joined ICJ as a Senior Finance Officer and was subsequently promoted to International Finance office for Asia and Pacific Region. Before joining ICJ, she worked as Senior Accountant at International Union Conservation of Natures (IUCN) and private sector in Thailand. She holds a Master degree in Management from Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand and a Bachelor degree in Accounting from Bangkok University, Thailand.
Nawawan Petchwattana
Human Resources and Grants Officer, Asia & Pacific
Nawawan joined the ICJ as an Administration Officer in June 2012. Her prior work experience includes working as an Administrative Associate at the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and as a Secretary in the Consular Section of the Turkish Embassy in Thailand. Nawawan holds a Master of Arts in Labor Economics and Human Resources Management from Chulalongkorn University and Bachelor of Arts degree from Ayutthaya Rajabhat University.
Pooja Shah
Administration Assistant & Logistics Officer, South Asia
Pooja joined the ICJ in Kathmandu in May 2010. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Tribhuwan University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Pokhara University. Prior to joining ICJ, she worked as an intern at Nabil Bank Limited and Himalayan Bank Limited.
Mandira Sharma
Senior International Legal Adviser
Mandira has more than 20 years of experience in human rights and rule of law. Before joining the ICJ, she ran Advocacy Forum, a leading human rights organization in Nepal, where she led a team of more than 120 human rights defenders and lawyers, documenting, monitoring, litigating cases of human rights violations during Nepal’s conflict. She has worked in a range of international organisations and is known for her work challenging injustice through documentation, advocacy and litigation at both national and international levels. She has a Ph.D. in transitional justice from the University of Essex, United Kingdom on Transitional Justice and an LLM in international human rights law from the same university.
Laxmi Pokharel
Legal Adviser
Prior to joining the ICJ, Laxmi practiced law and served as a Legal Aid Officer for 10 years in Legal Aid/ Access to Justice Project of Nepal Bar Association. She is involved in different research works of different organizations and has published articles in national journals related to human rights and women rights. She has an LL.M degree in Human Rights and Gender Justice from Purbanchal University in 2010 (Gold Medal). She was awarded the fellowship on International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) by US State Department in 2014.
Karuna Parajuli
Legal Adviser
Karuna Parajuli is a human rights lawyer from Nepal. As a Legal Adviser at International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Nepal office. Parajuli is currently leading Economic Social and Cultural Rights initiatives and Disability rights and access to justice work in Nepal. Under the ICJ`s right to education advocacy campaign, Parajuli is working with the senior lawyers and public education experts of Nepal, to mentor young lawyers on strategic litigation for the right to education. Prior to joining the ICJ, Parajuli worked as a litigating lawyer. She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, UK. Her personal twitter handle( current x) is @pkrkaru
Kashiram Dhungana
Legal Adviser
Kashiram joined the ICJ in August 2014 and is implementing the ICJ’s work on Transitional Justice (TJ) and accountability in Nepal. Prior to joining ICJ, he worked at Advocacy Forum Nepal as a Human Rights Lawyer / District & Regional Focal Person on Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice & Torture Prevention for nine years. He is a lawyer and has practiced law in the courts of Nepal. He has a Bachelors degree in law and a Masters degree in Political Science from Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
Mathurabhasini Thamilmaran (Mathuri)
Legal Adviser
Mathuri is a Sri Lankan lawyer with more than 10 years of experience in human rights advocacy. She joined ICJ as National Legal Advisor: Sri Lanka in 2021. Prior to that she held research positions at multiple non-governmental organisations in Sri Lanka including the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust, the South Asian Center for Legal Studies (SACLS), and the Law & Society Trust amongst others. She was also the first Legal Researcher to join the Right to Information Commission of Sri Lanka when it was newly established. In that role, she assisted on drafting the Commission’s Rules on Appeals and Fees and the Commission’s Orders. She has an LL.M specialising in International Human Rights Law from the American University Washington College of Law, USA and an LL.B (Hons.) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Saovanee Kaewjullakarn
Legal Consultant
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Caleen Chanyungco Obias
Legal Consultant
Caleen, a dual-qualified lawyer admitted to the bar in both the Philippines and New York, USA, has over a decade of legal experience. With extensive government background, having worked for Philippine government institutions including the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, and the Commission on Human Rights, she offers a unique perspective on promoting human rights through the rule of law. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Ateneo de Manila University, she further pursued her legal education with a Juris Doctor Degree from the same institution. In addition to her legal career, she owns and operates a supplementary education program that enhances the skills of an average of 150 student per month.
Saugat Gautam
Programme Manager
Saugat’s background includes an extensive experience in project management, advocacy, administration, education, and training within the context of NGOs and INGOs in the South Asia region. He possesses proficient skills in monitoring and evaluation procedures, project planning and execution, team supervision, and budget development and monitoring. Saugat has strong focus on inclusive development, promoting good governance, and enhancing civil society organizations. Saugat holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science and is presently pursuing an MPhil Degree in Political Science at Tribhuvan University in Nepal.
Pratistha Basnet
Finance Officer
Pratistha Basnet has joined the ICJ from June 2012 as an Assistant Finance Officer. She is currently working as a finance officer in ICJ South Asia office based in Nepal. Prior to joining the ICJ, Pratistha has worked for 5 years in account and administration department in various private, non-government organizations. Pratistha holds MBA (Master of Business Administration), specialized in General Management, from Ace Institute of Management, Pokhara University, Nepal.
Kamonluk Koenchai
Programme Manager
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Shiwa Chaudhary
Office Clerk
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Latin America
Carolina Villadiego Burbano
Latin America Team Leader
Carolina is a Colombian lawyer, having graduated from the Universidad de los Andes. She also holds a Master’s degree in Law (LLM) from the University of George Washington in the United States, and a Master’s degree in Political Science and Sociology from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO). Her professional experience has focused on justice systems and their connection to human rights in Latin America, and on developing advocacy strategies in these fields. She has also been a teacher at several universities in Colombia. Prior to joining the ICJ, she worked with the Center for Law, Justice and Society Studies (Dejusticia) of Colombia, the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA) and the Ombudsman’s Office in Colombia.
Maria Angelica Porto M.
Program Manager
A Colombian native, María Angélica holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation and International Organisms from the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain. She joined the ICJ in March 2021 and has previously worked for various regional and international NGOs and organisations, like the United Nations, in countries such as Colombia, the United States, Spain and Portugal. With more than 10 years of experience in human rights project’s management, she has managed multiple projects specifically in the areas of transparency and anti-corruption, public-private initiatives for security, as well as children and women’s economic and social inclusion.
Gabriela Fernandez
Consultant Legal Adviser
Gabriela Fernandez joined the ICJ in 2018. She is a lawyer and notary with more than 10 years experience in legal work in Guatemala. Previously she worked at the International Affairs Department of the Supreme Court in diplomatic and consular work, and as a legal adviser for the Public Ministry on the Programme to promote security and justice (SEJUST). Before that she worked as a legal adviser with the Ministry for Public Health and Social Services.
Rosario Alvarado de Monzón
Finance Officer
Rosario, a Guatemala native, joined the ICJ in September 2014, after more than 15 years of work with DANIDA’s Human Rights Programmes for Central America as Administration and Finance Officer. She has also worked for UNHCR and UNESCO, among other UN agencies. She has a degree in Business Administration, post-graduate degree in Conflict Resolution and is a sworn translator (Spanish/English – English/Spanish).
Rocío Quintero Martínez
Legal Adviser
Rocío is a Colombian lawyer. She holds a specialisation (graduate diploma) in criminal law and criminological sciences, a Master’s degree in crime analysis and prevention, and an LLM in human rights and criminal justice. For more than a decade, Rocío has worked on human rights, particularly in accountability for human rights violations, transitional justice and economic, social and cultural rights affairs, in public and private institutions. Since December 2018, Rocío has worked for the ICJ as a legal adviser.
Juan Felipe Velez Rojas
Community Consultant
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Carlos Lusverti
Legal Adviser Consultant
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Development & Donor Relations
Sarah Le Mesurier
Director, Programmes and Donor Engagement
Sarah has over 20 years of international development experience working across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with expertise in business and programme development, strategic planning, donor engagement, revenue and resource mobilisation, learning capture and programme management, particularly in complex and fragile settings. She has technical expertise in conflict prevention and reduction with focus areas that include early recovery, counter recruitment, reintegration and rehabilitation of former combatants, and sustainable youth livelihood development working with private sector partners. She has a Master’s degree from the University of St Andrews in the UK.
Mathilde Careau
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer
Mathilde joined the ICJ in 2019. She is part of the DOT team, and she provides global support to all ICJ programs with their Monitoring & Evaluation activities. Mathilde is based in Paris, France and comes with several years of experience working with humanitarian NGOs on monitoring and evaluation both at HQ and in the field. Her field experience includes work in Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco and Burkina Faso. Mathilde also has a Master’s degree in international trade as well as a Master’s degree in humanitarian action and governance project management.
Jane Johnson
Fundraising Officer
Jane has over 20 years’ experience working in the development sector, the last 6 of which have been as a freelance consultant. She worked for many years with Christian Aid and has since worked with many of the larger NGOs. She has extensive experience in designing and delivering multi-partner community, health, rights and emergency projects and a proven track record in successful fundraising. She is used to working to tight deadlines and thrives in a busy environment.
Janie Crocco
Grants Management and Compliance Officer
Janie joined the ICJ in 2021. She has several years of experience working with grantee organisations as well as institutional funders. She has worked for the U.S. Department of State, the Compton Foundation, Bocconi University and the University of Connecticut School of Law Asylum and Human Rights Clinic.
Marina Boca
Communications & Governance Associate
Marina Boca is a multilingual Digital Marketing and Content Management Specialist with more than 10 years of professional experience. She started her career in the private sector in New York and Milan before moving to Geneva working for international organisations such as WIPO, HQAI and WHO in the field of communication, web publication and as a consultant. She has a Master’s in Marketing, Digital Communication & Sales Management and a Postgraduate Master’s degree in Languages and Culture for International Communication and Cooperation.
Finance & Administration
Adina Marcu
Senior Finance Officer
After working in finance and administration for 12 years in the Romanian private sector, Adina joined the ICJ as an assistant accountant in April 2018. Her dedication and passion, combined with the completion of her accounting studies in Switzerland, advanced her to the Senior Finance position within our team. In this role, she supports the implementation of the accounting and finance activities by supervising the data management procedures and advancing the techniques for identifying and controlling financial risks.
Lilly Langbehn
HR Manager
Lilly commenced her role as HR Manager with the ICJ in November 2020. Before this, she held a number of HR roles with humanitarian NGOs in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. She received a BSc Economics/Finance from Montpellier University in 1996 and a MA in International Humanitarian Aid from the Faculty of Law, Aix-Marseille University, in 1997. She also obtained the Swiss HRSE certificate in 2018. As an HR professional, she sees her role as supporting others to grow into their full potential and likes to create a caring atmosphere in the teams. Both German and French, she feels a world citizen.
Charlotte Kristjansson
Chief Finance Officer
Charlotte is a Senior International Finance Professional with 25 years of experience, specializing in building sustainable foundations for companies and organisations. She has worked in Senior Finance Positions for large corporations such as Infineopn Technologies and as Finance Director for NGOs (IRU and Child Rights Eurasia) and SMEs (Transmedia SA, Game Group Plc, Ipsos and Rexam Beverage Group). She joined ICJ in 2023 after having supported the organisation on various missions as a management consultant. With a focus on optimizing financial planning, reporting, and analysis, she is instrumental in the decision-making processes for companies and organizations. Charlotte holds a University Degree in Business and Administration from Lunds University in Sweden and an Executive MBA from Lausanne Business School in Switzerland.
Iryna Hram
Finance Officer
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Bayanne Fattouh
HR & Admin Assistant
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