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Carla Ferstman is a Canadian qualified barrister and solicitor with a wealth of experience in human rights law and international criminal law. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex Law School. Over the years, Carla has worked at a variety of organisations, including the Office of the United Nations of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Rwanda and Amnesty International in London. She also worked at REDRESS, first as Legal Director and then as Director from 2004-2018. Under her leadership, REDRESS won the MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In 2012/13, while on sabbatical from REDRESS,

Ignacio Saiz is an international human rights expert and activist specialising in the links between human rights and economic justice. He currently works as an advisor to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to leading international human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International, and to foundations working at these intersections. Ignacio served for twelve years as Executive Director of the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), a pioneering international NGO working for a rights-based economy, and formerly served as Director of Policy for Amnesty International. He received an LLM in International Human Rights Law

Professor Youssef Sawani is a Libyan political scientist, analyst and author. He began his career at the University of Tripoli in 1985 as a member of faculty. He became the Head of the Department of Political Science in 1989 and in 1998, and the Coordinator of Graduate Programme in 2004. He has 38 years of teaching and research experience and between 2016-22 was the editor of the Contemporary Arab Affairs Journal published by the University of California Press. Between 2012-21, he assumed leading roles at the Center for Arab Unity Studies in Beirut including that of the Acting Director-General and Director of Studies.

Amal Hadi is an independent gender consultant and human rights activist. Previously she worked as a Project Officer at Oxfam, Egypt, and as a Women’s Program Coordinator at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) until 1998. Before becoming a gender consultant, Amal worked as a Coordinator at New Woman Foundation, an Egyptian non-governmental organisation that targets women empowerment and women’s rights. She holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery form Ain Shams University, and a diploma in Industrial Medicine. She also graduated from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, in 2000, with a degree in Women Studies.

Hassan Al Amin is a Libyan activist and advocate working to expose human rights abuses and promote democracy in Libya. Hassan fled Libya for the UK in 1983 after Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces arrested and beat him. From London he founded the independent website Libya al-Mostakbal (The Future Libya). Hassan returned to Libya during the revolution in 2011 and won a parliamentary seat in Libya’s first democratic elections in 2012. However, in 2013 he was forced to return to London as a result of his work investigating the mistreatment and torture of prisoners by anti-Gaddafi armed groups. In 2013, he received the Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award

Asma Khalifa is a Libyan activist and researcher, and is co-founder of the Tamazight Women’s Movement (TWM). TWM is an intersectional feminist think tank conducting research on, and advocating for, the indigenous women of Libya and North Africa. Its work currently focuses on strengthening the resilience of civil society organisations working on women, youth, peace and security. Asma’s previous research has included work on governance and development indicators for Libya and gendered communication patterns in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2016 Asma was awarded the Luxembourg Peace Prize during the World Peace Forum.

Ian Martin is a British human rights activist and and former United Nations official. His work in international NGOs has included being Secretary-General of Amnesty International, Vice President of the International Center for Transitional Justice, and Executive Director of Security Council Report.  His senior United Nations capacities have included Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in East Timor (1999) and Nepal (2007-2009), as well as the first SRSG for Libya (2011-2012). He has also served in human rights or peace operations in Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ethiopia/Eritrea.

Hisham Matar is a British-Libyan writer. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Asia & Middle East Cultures, Comparative Literature, and English at Barnard College, Columbia University. His first novel, In the Country of Men, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won numerous literary awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best First Book award for Europe and South Asia, the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the inaugural Arab American Book Award. His memoir, The Return, published in 2016, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

Tarek Megerisi is a Libyan political analyst and researcher who specialises in Libyan affairs and more generally politics, governance and development in the Arab world. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London. He started his career in Tripoli with the Sadeq Institute, Libya’s first independent think tank, where he  worked as a Research Fellow for Political Affairs. He also worked as a consultant on Libya’s transition with various NGOs, collaborating with a range of international experts on issues of democratisation and constitutionalism to directly assist Libya’s new institutions.

Hajer Sharief is a Libyan activist and co-founder of the non-profit organisation Together We Build It. Her organisation works on the democratic transition in Libya by emphasising the relevance of women's and youth participation in the political process. In 2013 she co-initiated the 1325 Network in Libya, a network of civil society organisations encouraging women to play an active role in peacebuilding and conflict prevention. She is also an advocate for Kofi Annan Foundation with the Extremely Together initiative on countering violent extremism and a member of the UN Advisory Group of Experts for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security. In 2017,

Lynn Welchman is Professor of Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where she teaches Law and Society in the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights and Islamic Law, and the International Human Rights Clinic. Before starting her academic career, Lynn worked on human rights in the Arab world for 15 years working mostly with Palestinian organisations including Al Haq but also with international NGOs including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights Leagues. She is also a member of the founding editorial board of the Muslim World Journal of Human Rights.

Iain Scobbie is a British expert in public international law. He is currently the Chair of International Law at University of Manchester Law School and a Senior Teaching Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He was previously the Sir Joseph Hotung Research Professor in Law, Human Rights, and Peace Building in the Middle East at SOAS, where he taught the law of armed conflict. Iain maintains a special interest in international humanitarian law; international adjudication, particularly the role of the International Court of Justice; and in the theory of international law. He is on the International Advisory Council of Diakonia's International Humanitarian Law

Marwa Ben Abderrazek is Senior Strategic Gender Advisor, heading LFJL’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) work, drawing on extensive experience in media, human rights, and advocacy for women's rights across North Africa. With previous roles at the British Embassy Libya, Avocats Sans Frontières, and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Marwa combines strategic insight with hands-on expertise in gender, WPS, program management, MEL, and grants. Fluentin three languages, Marwa is a dedicated voice for WPS and genderjustice. She is known for her lively discussions about Tunisianculture; expect to find her passionately sharing stories of herTunisian favourite dishes like Couscous, and Harissa.