Expertise

Over the last few years, Sarah has been dealing with international legal and policy matters, particularly relating to abuses in overseas operations and arbitrary detention. She has managed remote legal teams, clients, cross-institutional partnerships and community building. She has also liaised with foreign governments and several UN agencies. Her specialisms are in research, human rights law and foreign policy with lived experience in the political, social and human rights landscape in the Middle East and North Africa. Sarah has worked closely with victims of States’ abusive overseas operations, investigating their cases and working towards accountability through strategic interventions.

Current work

As Gulf Regional Co-ordinator, Sarah coordinates IHRB’s Middle East research and outreach support across five Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE). Sarah works closely with researchers and consultants both within the Gulf and globally, and contributes to the strategic direction of IHRB’s overall work in the region with the purpose of progressing policy and practice to improve the rights and working/living conditions of migrant workers in the Gulf. Sarah is fluent in Arabic, Dutch and English.

Before IHRB

Prior to joining IHRB, Sarah worked for a renowned legal action charity where she led on the investigation, casework, research and international advocacy aspects of projects which aimed to end extreme human rights abuses, and align policies with international human rights standards.  Sarah has also provided destitution and housing support to migrant families with no recourse to public funds, and has worked at a multilateral development bank where she was involved in policy projects aiming to find solutions for challenges arising from globally increasing consumer demands, gender inequalities and climate change in agribusiness supply chains.

Sarah holds an LLB from VU University of Amsterdam, and an LLM (with Distinction) from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).