Human Rights Consultants
Quality guaranteed: all our human rights consultants combine strong experience in their areas of competence. They also have a proven ability to work as consultants and trainers.
Complementary skills: collectively we cover most areas of human rights and most types of human rights work.
Unique combinations: we enjoy teamwork, so you can get a unique combination of skills by involving several consultants on your project. Easy access: its really quick and easy to access our consultants, individually or collectively. No complex barriers, no up-front fees, no registration.
Competitive fees: our services are very reasonably priced, because we have very little overhead.
If you cannot find the skills or competencies, let us know! We will do our best to find them from our wider network.
How does it work? Very simple:
Clients can contact a consultant directly (see below), or email the whole group at
Client and consultant discuss terms of reference and agree on fees bilaterally
We open an easy-to-use extranet for the project, which clients and consultants can use to communicate and project documents and outputs.
Once the project is completed, and with the consent of the client, Human Rights Tools publishes a short case-summary, in order to share the learning with the wider human rights community.
Aleksandar Bokan
Areas of competence:
Development of software and databases
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 Aleksandar currently works as IT Coordinator for South East Europe for MPDL. Since 1996 he was working in several IT positions, including for the IRC and UMCOR.
Aleksandar develops software which can be used by human rights organisations to monitor their work and track cases. His latest project is a database to monitor legal aid services, for a joint project UNDP and Ministry of Justice of Serbia. His software offers powerful but very user-friendly analytical possibilities, with features like built-in pie charts and tables.
Aleksandar is also member of Association of Mediators in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He holds a Masters in Electronics and Telecommunications from Novi Sad University in Serbia. |
Barbara Kussbach
Areas of competence:
Non-discrimination
Asylum seekers and refugees
Economic, social and cultural rights
Monitoring and advocacy
Investigation and research
Strategic case litigation
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Barbara is an Austrian human rights lawyer who currently works as a free-lance consultant in Vienna. She has over ten years experience in the field of human rights, both in the governmental and NGO sector. After having worked as a researcher at the
Austrian Constitutional Court and as Coordinator of the "Asylum Lawyers Network" of UNHCR and Caritas,
she served as Legal Officer at amnesty international Austria specialising in individual case work and human
rights advocacy.
Barbara has also worked with Minority Rights Group International, the Inter-American Court and the European Court of Human Rights gaining experience in strategic case litigation
and research and analysis in the areas of enforced disappearances, torture,
inhuman treatment and discrimination.
Barbara holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Vienna (1995), a Diploma in Project Management and
an LL.M. in International Human Rights law from the University of Essex (2006).
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Cecilia Jimenez
Areas of competence:
Reform of the UN human rights system, NGO participation and advocacy in the UN
Security and protection of human rights defenders
Migration and migrants’ rights
Non-state entities (i.e. engagement of armed groups; corporate social responsibility)
Investigation, documentation and prevention of torture
Gender and armed conflict
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 Since 1989, Cecilia has had extensive experience as a human rights defender, trainer and lawyer in the conduct of policy advocacy and campaigns; research and writing of policy papers; training design, delivery and assessment; victim representation; scoping and evaluation of national NGO capacity-building programmes.
In 2002, Cecilia established herself as an independent consultant based in Geneva, and also regularly teaches as adjunct professor and guest lecturer in various human rights and peace studies university courses.
Previously, she was Deputy Secretary General of the PAHRA in Manila and later on UN Programme director of the APT in Geneva. She was Board member and adviser of several Philippine, Asian and international NGOs.
Cecilia holds an LLM in Public International Law from King’s College London; an LL.B. from Ateneo de Manila; a B.Sc. in Foreign Service from the University of the Philippines; and various specialist certificates. |
Claire Mahon
Areas of competence:
Economic, social and cultural rights
UN human rights system
NGO participation and advocacy in the UN
Monitoring human rights violations
Human rights complaints procedures
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 Claire is an international human
rights lawyer based in Geneva, where she works as a consultant for NGOs, UN agencies, and academic institutions, and as a Research Associate in the Right
to Food Unit at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. She also regularly teaches as a guest lecturer in various university courses on the topics of international human rights law, international organisations and public international law.
She has previously worked for Amnesty International, the International Commission
of Jurists, the International Service for Human Rights,
the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions,and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her work has focused on monitoring
economic, social and cultural rights, including in the field. She has extensive experience in designing and providing training on international human rights law and practice to diplomats, advocates, field officers, and students, in over 15 countries.
Claire holds a DEA in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies; an LL.B. (Hons.) from the Australian National University (ANU); a BA (International Relations and Development Studies) from ANU; and is currently undertaking a PhD on the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
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Daniel D'Esposito
Areas of competence:
Humanitarian protection
Monitoring and documentation
Visits to places of detention
Email-based advocacy/outreach
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 Daniel has ten years experience in protection working with the ICRC. After field missions in Iraq, Israel and occupied territories, Bosnia, he worked for at ICRC headquarters' Protection Division in Geneva as researcher, field support officer, head of training unit.
Since January 2006, he has been working as training officer at a great little human rights NGO called HURIDOCS, based in Versoix, which helps other human rights organisations improve their capacity to monitor respect for human rights and document violations.
Daniel holds a BA in political science from the University of Lausanne and an MSc in NGO Management from the London School of Economics. He is founder of Human Rights Tools. |
Magdalena Sepulveda
Areas of competence:
Economic, social and cultural rights
Refugees and asylum seekers
Corruption
Sexuality & human rights
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 Magdalena is a Chilean lawyer with extensive experience working with academic and research institutions, international organizations and NGOs.
Since 2006 she is Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy. Previously, she was the Co-Director of the Department of International Law and Human Rights of the United Nations affiliated University for Peace in Costa Rica. Magdalena has also worked as a researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, staff attorney at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, consultant to the Department of International Protection of UNHCR (Geneva) and for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Colombia. Magdalena has worked with several NGOs in Latin America. She is currently a member of the Steering Committee of the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Magdalena holds a Ph.D in International Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and an LL.M in Human Rights Law from University of Essex, UK. |
Marco Kirschbaum
Areas of competence:
Humanitarian protection
Monitoring and evaluation
Organisational development
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 Marco has worked on human rights and humanitarian protection since 1986. He worked as volunteer for Amnesty International from 1986 to 1991. Since 1991, Marco started working for the ICRC first in the field (Sri Lanka, Philippines, Djibouti and Israel), then at headquarters at the Protection Division.
Marco has a strong interest in organisational development, monitoring and evaluation. He founded NGO Manager in 2001, which has become a leading source of information on NGO management. In 2006 he founded the NGO Management School, together with colleagues from the Philippines.
He studied Chinese at the universities of Zurich, Shanghai and Beijing, and holds an MA in Chinese studies from the Freie Universität Berlin. |
Olga Sadovskaya
Areas of competence:
Prevention of torture
International litigation
National and international advocacy
Investigation, documentation and analysis
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 Olga graduated from International Law department of Nizhniy Novgorod
State University (Russia) and Amsterdam State University (The
Netherlands). Her PH.D. thesis is dedicated to law enforcement and court
practice under Article 3 of European Convention of Human Rights.
Olga Sadovskaya has been working with human rights issues since 2002. She started as volunteer and now works as a vice-chairperson at
Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Committee Against Torture". She is experienced in representation of victims at European Court of Human Rights and preparing shadow reports to UN Committee Against Torture.
Olga also teaches at Nizhniy Novgorod
State University (International and European Protection of Human Rights, Law and Practice of European Court
of Human Rights) and organizes trainings on documentation, method of independent public investigation, use of international HR mechanisms. |
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