Our team

Stephen Wilkinson- Director

Stephen is an experienced international lawyer and humanitarian protection specialist who has been leading the Centre since 2017. His expertise includes supporting the strategic application of IHL within humanitarian operations. He has served as Senior Legal Associate at Harvard University and as Legal Officer for the UN. He has produced publications on fact-finding, investigations and standards of proof. 

Alice Priddy- Manager and Senior Legal Adviser, Global Projects + East & Central Africa

Alice is an international lawyer who has been working on the law of armed conflict for over ten years; she has particular expertise in the inclusive application of IHL. Previous roles include serving as a senior researcher at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, before joining the OHCHR as a human rights adviser on COVID response and recovery.

Myra Saade- Manager and Senior Legal Adviser

Myra is a member of the Beirut (Lebanon) Bar Association and has experience working with international organisations such as the UN, the ICRC and currently the IHL Centre. She previously managed programs related to access to justice and the rule of law. She is specialised in international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law.

Dr. Eitan Diamond- Manager and Senior Legal Adviser

Dr. Eitan Diamond is an international lawyer specializing in international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Eitan also serves on the managerial boards of the NGOs Public Committee against Torture in Israel and Parents against Child Detention, and on the editorial board of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies. Eitan has previously worked, inter alia, as an expert consultant for UNICEF, for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and at the research center Forensic Architecture; as Executive Director of the NGO Gisha; as a Legal Advisor for the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red  Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories; and as Researcher and Legal Advisor for the NGO B’Tselem.  His academic qualifications include a PhD from the Meitar Center for Advanced Legal Studies at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law; an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he was a Chevening Scholar; and an LLB from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Jean de Dieu Sikulibo- Manager and Senior Legal Adviser

Jean de Dieu is an international lawyer with extensive field experience in international humanitarian law, human rights, and international criminal law across diverse contexts. He has previously served in legal advisory roles with the United Nations, the Supreme Court of Rwanda, and Lawyers Without Borders. He holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom and a master’s degree in international law from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Juan Posada- Programme and Partnerships Manager

Juan is a senior humanitarian practitioner, interested in the role of civil society organizations as relief response and development agents, locally led capacity development, and knowledge co-production across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. He has over a decade of experience overseeing projects on protection and humanitarian assistance, disaster risk reduction, and post-crisis recovery in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. From 2022 to 2024 he performed as Diakonia’s Humanitarian Advisor, developing the organisation's Humanitarian Strategy and Triple Nexus approach. Juan has a BA in Government and International Relations, and a Master’s in Nonprofit Management.

Chris Fitzsimons- Communication Adviser

Chris has a background in communication, media relations, advocacy, and public engagement for a range of international organisations, including the International Commitee of the Red Cross, Geneva Call, the United Nations, the European Union and the International Criminal Court. Chris holds a Master of Laws in International Law, a Master of Arts in Visual Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies with Portuguese.

Evelyne Zeyazi- Financial Controller

Marina Mattirolo- Senior Legal Adviser & IHL Advisory Service Lead 

Marina is an expert in international humanitarian law and human rights. She holds an LL.M. in IHL from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights where she also led a project on improving compliance with humanitarian norms by armed non-state actors. She has worked for several INGOs including the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OSCE-ODHIR Ukraine Monitoring Initiative.   

Yousef Wehbe- Senior Legal Adviser

Yousef holds a Master of Laws in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, a Master of Arts in Literature, and a diploma in Educational Sciences. He has supported human rights organizations on international law. He has led teams of legal experts working on niche legal issues, and in humanitarian engagement with armed non-State groups in the MENA region.

Ingy Abouloyoun- Senior Legal Adviser

Previously, Ingy served as Regional Legal Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where she supported governmental and non-governmental actors in disseminating and integrating IHL. With extensive experience as a lecturer and trainer in international law, she has contributed to numerous national and regional courses. She holds a BA and MA in Law from the University of Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Dr. Elvina Pothelet- Senior Legal Adviser

Dr. Elvina Pothelet is Senior Legal Adviser and Coordinator of the Jerusalem Legal Team. She is an IHL lawyer with 12 years of experience, both as a practitioner and academic. She worked for the ICRC for a total of 6 years (both in ICRC delegations and at HQ), for the IHL Centre (Sahel team in 2018 and 2019, and Jerusalem team in 2020-2021), and for a number of governmental and non-governmental organisations, notably Geneva Call, Human Rights Watch and the Swiss Federal Department of Defense. She taught IHL for 3 years as a Teaching Assistant at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and at the University of Geneva. Elvina holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva (2021), and is the author of several publications on IHL and international criminal law.

Jaafar Fakih- Legal Adviser

Jaafar is a human rights professional with experience across the Middle East and North Africa. He has worked on documenting human rights violations in the Gulf, facilitating civil society engagement with UN mechanisms, and advocating for labor law reform in Lebanon. Before joining the Diakonia International Humanitarian Law Centre, he focused on the issue of missing persons in Syria. Jaafar holds a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College and a master’s degree in international human rights law from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Joshua Joseph Niyo- Regional Legal Adviser, East & Central Africa

Joshua’s expertise spans scholarship, advocacy, teaching, and practice in international humanitarian law, human rights, and international criminal law, in East Africa, Central Europe and North America. He has experience working in international non-governmental organisations including, Human Rights Watch, and the ICRC, as well as in the United Nations system, notably, in the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Human Rights Committee. He holds a PhD in International Law (magna cum laude) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, as well as an LLM in IHL and human rights from the Geneva Academy of IHL and Human Rights.

Emilie Fitzsimons- Legal Adviser, Global Projects 

At the IHL Centre, Emilie primarily works on the drafting and development of the Stockholm Manual. Prior to joining the IHL Centre, she was the Team Leader and a Senior Research Fellow working on the British Red Cross/International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) joint project on customary international humanitarian law. Emilie has extensive experience working in both law firms and NGOs, including Baker and McKenzie, the Abuses in Counter-Terrorism team at Reprieve, and the post-conflict and ICC team at Redress. Emilie is also a College Research Associate at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge and is a qualified attorney admitted to practice law at the New York Bar.

Matias Thomsen- Legal Adviser, Global Projects 

Matias has developed professional and academic expertise in the fields of international humanitarian law, human rights, and international criminal law. He holds a PhD on the law of armed conflict in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court, where he has previously provided legal advice and support to the Office of the Prosecutor. As a Senior Legal Advisor for the IHL Centre, Matias has contributed to projects on access to humanitarian assistance, forcible recruitment of adults by non-state armed groups, humanitarian demining, and many more.

Sara Gamha- IHL Regional Adviser

Sara Gamha brings 14 years of experience in the humanitarian field, with a strong focus on protection, humanitarian advocacy, and the promotion of international humanitarian law. She has held senior positions across the Middle East and West Africa, both in complex field settings and at headquarters level, particularly in Geneva. Throughout her career, Sara has worked with organizations such as UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), INTERSOS, and Geneva Call. She has led strategic initiatives to improve humanitarian access, engage with non-state armed actors, and promote compliance with humanitarian norms.Her expertise includes strategic planning, operational analysis, humanitarian negotiation and capacity building in fragile and conflict-affected environments. Sara holds a Master’s degree in International and European Law from the University of Geneva and a Law degree from the Faculty of legal, political and social sciences in Tunisia.

Sofia Poulopoulou- Legal Adviser, Global Projects 

Olivia Njoroge- Legal Adviser

Anna-Christina Schmidl- Legal Adviser

Öykü Irmakkesen- Legal Advisor

Rim Dbouk- Programme Officer

Rim holds a Master’s degree in Public Law from La Sagesse University and a candidate of Master’s in Diplomacy and International Affairs from ESA Business School and UNITAR. She is a certified Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Expert by MDF Netherlands. Rim has extensive experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and legal research, with a background working for international and national organisations including War Child Holland and FEMALE. She is also a committed feminist and human rights defender.

Aminata Samaké- Programme Officer

Aminata is a programme officer for the Sahel region, where she has supported initiatives for several years. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Law and a Master's degree in Business Management from the Institute of Advanced Studies in Tunis. She also completed a Master's degree in Peacekeeping at the Alioune Blondin Bèye Peacekeeping School (EMP-ABB), as well as an Executive Master's degree in Post-conflict State Reconstruction at the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies. She has extensive experience in project design, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, and knowledge management, which she uses to promote stability and protection in the Sahel region.

Karin Klöfver Ståhl- Projects Assistant

Karin is an experienced project assistant based in Stockholm, Sweden. She holds a degree in Human Rights and has previously worked on several projects and advocacy campaigns to promote indigenous rights in local and international contexts, with a special focus on EU affairs and advocacy. Her previous experience working with NGOs and civil society organisations has created a solid knowledge of multi-stakeholder collaboration and local capacity building. She has a special interest in communications and gender equality.

Kanyali Mwikya: Program Officer: Global Projects and East & Central Africa

Eliana Aoun- Operations Management Lead

Please note that, due to concerns about the repression of humanitarian action in some contexts, and in order to protect the safety and security of our staff, some names and profiles have not been published on this website. We appreciate your understanding.