Cajetan Osisioma is a human rights advocate and defender. Currently, he is a judge of the Customary Court in Nigeria. Before his appointment as a judicial officer, he worked in leading law firms in Nigeria, including S. P. A. Ajibade & Co., where he practiced as a key member of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution department. Osisioma has expertise in litigation, human rights, humanitarian law, international law, and international arbitration. He has represented clients before the Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice. Osisioma is a scholar, researcher, analyst, volunteer, and writer. He has published many articles and contributed several book chapters in reputable professional journals and textbooks. Osisioma obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. As part of his Fellowship program, he is focusing on human rights, the intersection of human rights and terrorism, and international humanitarian law.

Claudia Lorena Diaz is a Mexican lawyer who specializes in human rights and international law. Diaz is passionate about humanitarian and social equality issues. She has worked as an education liaison for UNICEF in Guerrero, Mexico. In this capacity, she supervised violence prevention projects in schools and a multicultural strategy to prevent inequalities amongst children. Between 2015 and 2018, she worked as a human rights officer in the Supreme Court of the Nation in Mexico to ensure the rights of women, indigenous peoples, LGBTIQ community, and children in judicial decisions. She is an alumna of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum. Diaz has a Bachelor of Laws from the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Mexico. As a Humphrey Fellow, Diaz is focusing on the protection of human rights in the digital era, more specifically on the protection of children's best interest online to prevent violence and technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Darren L. Domah is a legal counsel with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Liberia, and a legal advisor to the Maryland Oil Palm Plantation and the Cavalla Rubber Plantation, West Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Art in Sociology and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia. Domah has over ten years of professional experience working on gender-related issues such as women's civil and political rights, gender inequality, and sexual and gender-based violence. During the Ebola virus crisis in 2014 in Liberia, Domah led a team of social workers to provide emergency humanitarian services to residents of Montserrado County. He provides pro bono legal services for indigent people, and he is one of the drafters of the new public health law of Liberia aimed at providing health care services for all. As a Humphrey Fellow, Domah is focusing on gender and the law, public health law, human rights, and the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia. 

Godswill Mavenge is a Provincial and Resident Magistrate Judge in the Karoi Magistrate Court in Zimbabwe. Mavenge joined the Judicial Service Commission of Zimbabwe in 2014. Prior to becoming a magistrate, he worked for a law firm representing clients in both civil and criminal courts. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Zimbabwe and an LL.M. in human rights from the University of South Africa. Mavenge has expertise in human rights and is passionate about access to justice. During his Fellowship, Mavenge is interested in deepening his studies in human rights, administrative and constitutional law. He hopes to obtain exposure to how the judiciary in the United States functions, in particular how cases are managed electronically.

Josiah Kalala is an Advocate and Programme Manager at Chapter One Foundation, a civil society organization that promotes rule of law, constitutionalism, and human rights in Zambia. In this capacity, he undertakes strategic public interest litigation, conducts advocacy, and facilitates legal representation for human rights defenders. Prior to joining Chapter One Foundation, he worked at the German Development Cooperation, Legal Aid Board, and the Human Rights Commission of Zambia. Kalala has a Bachelor of Laws from Cavendish University, Lusaka, Zambia, and was admitted to the Zambian Bar. Kalala is a Chevening Scholar and he sits on the advisory board of various civil society organizations that work on governance and human rights issues in Zambia. He is a member of regional and national human rights defenders’ networks. As a Humphrey Fellow, Kalala is interested in constitutional law and good governance, and in strategic litigation in human rights.

Khaola Batool Sherani serves as a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Human Rights in Pakistan. She has been with the Ministry of Human Rights for nearly 10 years and has worked on multiple assignments, including monitoring the conditions of rights of religious minorities, developing policy research proposals on important human rights issues, and assisting senior officers of the Ministry in consultations on legislative and policy reforms. Sherani has a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science, a bachelor’s degree in law, and a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Sherani has done the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Human Rights Policy & Practice from the Universities of Gothenburg (Sweden), Deusto (Spain) and Roehampton (UK) in 2018. She completed an internship in the London based charity Prisoners’ Advice Service and recently worked as part of a team that assisted a Commission appointed by Islamabad High Court to report on the rights of prisoners in Pakistan. During her Fellowship, Sherani is focusing on criminal law and human rights, so she can contribute to the criminal justice system reform in Pakistan. 

Maha Tambal most recently served as Civil Society Organizations Coordinator at the National Democratic Institute, Sudan Office under Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) program to support the democratic transition in Sudan. Before that, she was a Training and Partnership Coordinator at ReadR UK in Khartoum, Sudan, where she worked to advance civil society capacity to play a vital role in the democratic transition in Sudan in 2019, and to strengthen their political participation. Prior to joining ReadR UK, Tambal worked in INGOs in Sudan in the constitution-making process and the local electoral systems reform. She worked for UN WOMEN to support women's economic empowerment and the peace process in Darfur region. In 2018, she worked in Kenya in the field of migration management to enhance resilience between refugees and host communities in the Horn of Africa. In 2020, as a Regan-Fascell Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington, D.C., Tambal addressed the root causes for Sudanese youth engagement in violent extremism. Tambal has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Comboni College for Science, Technology, and a master’s degree in database encryption and network security from the University of Gezira, Sudan. As a Humphrey Fellow, Tambal is interested in constitutional law and freedom of religion, and human rights. 

Marta Sanchez is a Deputy Assistant Public Prosecutor in the Superior Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor’s Office at the Office of the Procurator-General (Attorney General) of Panama. Sanchez was actively involved in the investigation and litigation of several high profile cases related to crimes of corruption, embezzlement, and money laundering, including the Odebrecht case. She was responsible for drafting legal appeals filed before the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama and other Courts of Panamanian jurisdiction. Sanchez has a bachelor’s degree in law and political science from the Universidad de Panama, Sigma Lambda Honor, and a postgraduate degree in trial advocacy within an adversarial system (honors) from the Universidad Especializada de las Americas, Panama. During her Fellowship year, Sanchez is focusing on anti-corruption, anti-bribery law, and human rights. 

Mary Ann Matta is a National Project Officer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Lebanon. She has been with the Protection Department at the ICRC for nearly 10 years working on restoring family links and missing files from the Lebanon and Syria civil wars. In this role, she accompanied families of missing persons and refugees, collected forensic data, managed field teams, conducted pilot projects, met with authorities and stakeholders, and trained local organizations. Matta also supported missions to Mali and Nigeria to work on the migration and missing files and provided training for the National Red Cross present in these countries. Matta holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in international affairs from the Lebanese American University. She also received certificates in international criminal law and human rights. As a Humphrey Fellow, Matta is focusing on access to justice and human rights.  

Mohamed Yacine Ben Fredj serves as the Financial Affairs Director in the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Tunisia. In this capacity, he manages and supervises all financial tasks of the Ministry. Ben Fredj is a member of the steering committee in partnership with UNOHCHR, aiming to enhance the capacity of the Ministry to promote human rights and religious freedom. Since 2006, he has been engaged in the public sector as public service advisor in different ministries.  He has served as Head of Service of Materials and Maintenance in the Ministry of State Property and Land Affairs (2006-2013), Under Director of General Inspection in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (2014-2018), and Director of General Administrative and Financial Inspection in the Ministry of Religious Affairs (2018-2019). Ben Fredj also provides training to several state agencies. He has a bachelor’s degree in judicial private law and a master’s degree in public law from the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Tunis, and a Higher Certificate in Public Administration from the National School of Administration of Tunisia. He is interested in preventing violent extremism and fostering nondiscrimination. During the Humphrey Fellowship Program, Ben Fredj is focusing on religious freedom and human rights.

Pawan Singh Arora is a Public Relations Officer in the Office of the Governor of Punjab, Pakistan. In this capacity, he additionally serves as coordinator for Minority Affairs within the office. He also works on religious and heritage tourism. Arora has worked as a creative writer, producing theatre plays, programs for television, and publishing articles regarding social awareness. He is a radio broadcaster and digital creator who owns a YouTube channel with millions of hits mostly about religious freedom and socio-cultural awareness. Arora is the first and only gazetted officer from the Sikh community who has been widely published in Punjab. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business communication and commerce, a master’s degree in public relations and advertising, and an MPhil in gender studies and human rights from the University of the Punjab, Pakistan. As a Humphrey Fellow, Arora is interested in human rights and religious freedom. He hopes to expose the Punjab community to cultural and religious diversity for conflict resolution and to promote peace, tolerance, and acceptance.

Polina Sidelnikova is a practicing lawyer in civil and customs law, criminal and administrative cases in Vladivostok, Russia. For the past 12 years, she has been engaged in protecting citizens who have been persecuted for political reasons. Sidelnikova has litigated a number of human rights cases before international courts. All cases are related to the violation of civil and political rights, including illegal detention during rallies, arrests for reposting on social media networks, and politically motivated persecution. Prior to that, she worked as a lawyer in various state institutions, including the city administration, the pension fund, and customs. Sidelnikova graduated from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, with a Bachelor of Laws (jurisprudence). As a Humphrey Fellow, Sidelnikova is focusing on human rights, comparative family law and children's rights. One of her goals is to create a legal center for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Russian Far East.

Swagata Sen serves as the state coordinator at the Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan in India. Sen has over a decade of experience working against human trafficking. She has been working in the areas of protection of children and women, trafficking in persons, cross border migration, and child labour. She also works tracking and analysing information on criminal network, and planning and conducting raid and rescue operations in collaboration with law enforcement agencies. Sen has also worked in various childcare institutions handling cases of children in conflict with law, sexual abuse, and commercial sexual exploitation. She has conducted trainings to build capacity of government officers, police, judiciary, public prosecutors, paralegal volunteers, and civil society organizations. Sen has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Calcutta, and a master’s degree in history from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, India. During her Fellowship, Sen is interested in strengthening her knowledge in trafficking in persons and migration, and in the intersection of trafficking in persons and terrorism.