David Geer
Executive Director

Holds a Bachelors degree in English Literature, a Diploma in Law and an LLM at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Following a period of practice as a barrister, he worked as legal officer at Immunity, a London-based law centre specialising in legal issues relating to HIV and AIDS. After moving to Brussels as the International Commission of Jurist’s first Legal Officer for Europe he was employed by the European Human Rights Foundation to lead a team working on civil society development issues in the former Soviet Union travelling extensively throughout the region. From 1998 he worked in Georgia and Armenia for the Delegation of the European Commission on human rights, rule of law and development issues. In 2000 he was appointed Deputy Director of the European Human Rights Foundation. He has served subsequently as a human rights adviser at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as Head of the Elections Team in the European Commission’s Directorate General for External Relations. Joined INTERIGHTS in September 2005. Languages: French, Russian and Spanish.

Helen Duffy
Legal Director

Qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and later England. Holds an LLM in International law from the University of London (1990). Working life before joining INTERIGHTS in April 2001 included acting as Legal Advisor to the Scott �Arms for Iraq� Inquiry in London, Legal Director of the Centre for Human Rights in Legal Action in Guatemala, Counsel on International Justice to Human Rights Watch, New York, and Legal Officer, Legal Advisory Section, the Prosecutor�s Office, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Hague. Particular interest in international criminal law, laws of war and international remedies. Languages: Spanish and basic French.

Joe Curran
Resources Director

Highly experienced accountant, gained over a period of 40 years with over half of this time spent at senior management/board level in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors, including eight years with the British Refugee Council, where he had the responsibility for an annual business turnover of c.£70m and a staff of 13. Prior to this, he was Financial Director for an international coal trading company for a period of ten years. Joined INTERIGHTS in December 2004.

Iain Byrne
Senior Lawyer, Commonwealth

Fellow of the Human Rights Centre, Essex University. Graduated in law from Manchester University (1988) followed by an MA in human rights theory and practice at Essex (1994). Worked extensively abroad as consultant and lecturer on human rights and good governance for the British Council and the UN including Zimbabwe, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Georgia and Brazil. Participated in the first international mission to Israel and the Occupied Territories during the 2000 intifada. Previously Research Officer and then Associate with the Democratic Audit, Essex University. Joined INTERIGHTS in September 2001. Author of numerous publications on human rights and good governance includingThe Human Rights of Street Children: A Practical Manual for Advocates and, with Keir Starmer, Blackstone�s Human Rights Digest. Interests include economic, social and cultural rights, auditing human rights and democracy and children�s rights. Languages: competent French and basic German. Email Iain at: ibyrne@interights.org

Andrea Coomber
Senior Lawyer, Equality

Holds Bachelors degrees in Arts (History) and Law from the University of Western Australia and a Masters Degree in Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. After practising sex and HIV discrimination law in Australia, she worked for the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) in New Delhi and for the International Service for Human Rights, Geneva. She has also lived and worked in Egypt. Particular interests are the human rights of people with disabilities, the operation of UN human rights mechanisms and the state of human rights in Singapore. Languages: conversational German and Bahasa Indonesian. Also increasingly conversant in British Sign Language. Email Andrea at: acoomber@interights.org

Ibrahima Kane
Senior Lawyer, Africa

Qualified as a lawyer in Senegal and France. Ran a human rights programme focused on public education and women�s human rights in five West-African countries (Cap Verde, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal) for six years. Founding member of RADDHO, a Senegalese human rights organisation. Joined INTERIGHTS in 1998. Particular interest in Francophone countries, economic, social and cultural rights, torture and women�s rights. Languages: fluent French, Mandika and some Arabic. Email Ibrahima at ikane@interights.org

Vesselina Vandova
Senior Lawyer, Security and the Rule of Law

Degree in Law from Sofia University, Bulgaria, and LLM from New York University School of Law. Before joining INTERIGHTS in 2002, worked as staff attorney for the Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights, where she litigated cases of human rights violations before domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Also practiced as criminal defence attorney in Sofia, Bulgaria, and co-ordinated a joint project of five Bulgarian organizations aimed at promoting police accountability. Particular interests include criminal justice, promoting human rights through litigation and courts. Languages: Bulgarian, Russian and limited French and Spanish. Email Vesselina at:

Judith A Oder
Lawyer, Africa

Graduated in Law from Makerere University, Kampala, and holds a post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Uganda. Pursued a Masters in International Human Rights Law from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Sweden after which she interned at Amnesty International�s Legal and International Organisations� Programme. Admitted to the Bar in Uganda. Before joining INTERIGHTS in 2004, worked at the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, the Gambia, where she used  international  and comparative law  to undertake litigation  and  capacity building work. Particular interests: the rights of vulnerable groups and the impact of business activities on human rights. Languages: Luo, Luganda. Good Knowledge of French and Kiswahili. Email Judith at: joder@interights.org

Sibongile Ndashe
Lawyer, Equality

Holds a B.Proc and LLB from the University of the Western Cape (1994-1998) and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 2001. She has worked as a candidate attorney for the Legal Resources Centre (1999-200), as a researcher at the South African Constitutional court (2001) and as an attorney at the Women’s Legal Centre, a public interest law centre that conducts litigation on the women’s constitutional rights (2002-2007). Her work has focused on customary law, religious laws and women’s property rights. Made written and oral submissions to various parliamentary committees on laws impacting on women and conducted training courses with other human rights organisations in various countries in Eastern and Southern Africa on the domestication of international human rights. Presented, lectured, written and published in mainstream media and academic publications on these areas. Particular interest: protection of women’s human rights. Languages: English, Siswati, Zulu and Xhosa and good knowledge of Xhitsonga. Email Sibongile at: sndashe@interights.org

Doina Ioana Straisteanu
Lawyer, Europe

Holds a bachelor's degree in International Law from the State University of Moldova (2001) and a master’s degree in Management and Public Administration from the Academy for Public Administration of the Republic of Moldova (2002). Previously worked for the Moldovan Helsinki Committee (2000-4) where she acquired extensive experience in advocacy and strategic litigation before the European Court of Human Rights, raising awareness for stakeholders on human rights issues and training law professionals. Has written several articles in the Moldovan press on fair trial, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in police custody, as well as Shadow Reports for the UN Committee against Torture, the European Committee for Prevention of Torture, Amnesty International and others. Most recently worked as Legal Director for Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (2005-2006), planning and supervising the submission of written pleadings in over 100 Chechen cases litigated before the European Court by a team of lawyers. Joined INTERIGHTS in January 2007. Particular interests: right to life, prevention of torture, liberty and security, fair trial, private life and property. Languages: Romanian, Russian, English and French. Email Doina Ioana at: dstraisteanu@interights.org

Dina Vedernikova
Lawyer, Europe

Holds a Degree in Law from Tomsk State University (1995-2000) and an LLM in Human Rights Law from Queen’s University of Belfast (2001-02). Before joining INTERIGHTS in August 2006, worked as a lawyer at Memorial / European Human Rights Advocacy Centre in Moscow, litigating cases before the European Court of Human Rights. Also worked on the Memorial / Moscow Helsinki Group project Ethnic Discrimination: Identification of Cases and their Litigation. Her work at INTERIGHTS focuses on litigation support in respect of different rights violations in the South Caucasus. Languages: Russian, French and basic Arabic. Email Dina at: dvedernikova@interights.org

Beth Fernandez
Programme Co-ordinator, Europe

Degree in Russian and Politics from Leeds University. Previously worked as a lecturer of British politics at St Petersburg State University, a researcher on financial, scientific and legal terminology at University of Surrey, a venture capital researcher at a St Petersburg investment bank, and a project manager for a London-based software company. Joined INTERIGHTS in August 2001. Particular interests: challenges to the rule of law in the countries of the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia, equality and non-discrimination, systems of monitoring and evaluation for human rights projects, training methodologies for human rights. Languages: fluent Russian, conversational French. Email Beth at: bfernandez@interights.org

Justin Fraterman
Information and Publications Officer / Programme Co-ordinator, Commonwealth

Holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2005-6) and a BA in History and Political Science from McGill University, Montréal (2001-4). Served as Editor-in-Chief of the McGill International Review (2002-3) and conducted research at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht, the Netherlands (2005). Also worked as a writer at Canada's Mission to the EU in Brussels (2003) and a research assistant at the Institute of European Studies at the University of Toronto (2004). Joined INTERIGHTS in November 2006. Languages: native English, fluent French and Dutch, basic Spanish. Email Justin at: jfraterman@interights.org

Juliet McDermott
Programme Co-ordinator, Africa / Security and the Rule of Law Programme

Degree in History from Trinity College Dublin and MA in International Studies & Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Following MA, worked as a research assistant at the Kurdish Human Rights Project in London, specialising in torture in Kurdish regions. Most recently based at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg working in publications, concerning human rights issues in Europe. Particular interest in sub-Saharan African countries, having lived in Zambia, Lesotho and Swaziland for several years. Languages: French and competent Italian. Joined INTERIGHTS in March 2004. Email Juliet at: jmcdermott@interights.org

Moni Shrestha
Programme Co-ordinator, South Asia / Equality / Legal Director

Degree in African Studies from School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, which included research in Nigeria. Before joining INTERIGHTS in July 2001, worked as research assistant at an international market research company specialising in IT, while volunteering with the Urgent Action Team of Amnesty International (UK). Lived in Nepal for 11 months. Languages: native German, French, basic Nepali. Email Moni at: mshrestha@interights.org

Bernise Fullerton
Facilities and IT Manager

Joined INTERIGHTS in January 2005. Bernise brings extensive Facilities/HR/IT skills and experience to the role. She has worked with a number of NGOs as well as in the commercial sector. Email Bernise at: bfullerton@interights.org

Sarah Harrington
Fundraising and Development Manager

Has over eight years of fundraising experience, raising money from institutional, corporate and individual donors. She raised money for medical research before moving to a housing charity to concentrate on fundraising research and strategy. She has also worked in fundraising and funding research in the arts and international development sectors.

Sarah has lived, worked and volunteered in Germany, the Czech Republic and Guatemala. She has an MA (Hons.) in German from Edinburgh University where she also studied Politics and Social Anthropology and speaks German, Spanish and French. Joined INTERIGHTS in May 2005. Email Sarah at: sharrington@interights.org

Michelle Ofondu
Resources Administrator

Joined INTERIGHTS in July 2005. Email Michelle at: mofondu@interights.org

Iryna Peleshko
Finance Manager

AT qualified and currently studying ACCA. Has worked in a number of different companies/organisations as accountant/ finance officer acquiring accounting and management accounting skills: Timesco, a medical company, and the Tower Hamlets Summer University, an educational charity. In 2002 was employed at Disability Law Service (national charity that provides legal advice for disabled people) as finance officer on part-time basis. Then due to keen interest in IT, took on additional responsibility of network administrator successfully combining accounting and IT. Languages: native Russian and Ukrainian, Turkish. Joined INTERIGHTS in October 2005. Email Iryna at: ipeleshko@interights.org