Biography
As a self-professed global nomad who was born in the Emirates, grew up in Scotland and traces ancestral descent to Sudan I have dedicated my 12 year career to issues of human mobility. Working with the UN in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia on issues of land and cross-border mobility led me to my thesis topic on: transboundary self-determination. My doctoral thesis investigates the dead space in international law governing the rights of people between international borders. I highlight borderlands as a legal space and build a legal case for the recognition of rights of transboundary peoples to self-determination. A self that is necessarily determined by crossing a border, and one that is not satisfied by internal [within State borders] or external [statehood claims/ independence] self-determination. I have developed case studies on; Irish border, Abyei Area, Kashmir, Kurdistan, Chagos Islands, US-Mexico/ US-Canada border.
Research
The rights of people between borders; those who share cultural, economic, spiritual and familial ties that bind them to the territory of not just one but two or more states. In particular I am interested in the rights of transboundary peoples to self-determination and the various frameworks and technologies that enable dignity in human mobility.
