Our Team
Sonia Marcantonio
Research Manager
Sonia holds an LL.M. in Public International Law and Human Rights from Utrecht University and a master’s degree in Italian and European Law from the University of Bologna. She has extensive experience in research and project management on various human rights-related issues.
After her LL.M, Sonia joined JUSTLAW, a Dutch human rights law firm based in Amsterdam. She was a research partner in the RICHWE project, a UN Reporting Initiative on Climate Change, Health, Water, and Environment. She has also worked on projects in Tanzania (focused on deforestation, indigenous rights, and gender-related issues) and Paraguay (focused on migration, deforestation, child labour, women's rights, and WASH issues). She has also worked as a communication and legal assistant for the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), based in Perugia, Italy. In her free time, Sonia likes to read books about psychology and anthropology while listening to jazz music. She also loves travelling and hiking.
Areas of interest/expertise: international law, human rights, migration, asylum, business and human rights, environmental law, policy and legal analysis.
Research Manager
Sonia holds an LL.M. in Public International Law and Human Rights from Utrecht University and a master’s degree in Italian and European Law from the University of Bologna. She has extensive experience in research and project management on various human rights-related issues.
After her LL.M, Sonia joined JUSTLAW, a Dutch human rights law firm based in Amsterdam. She was a research partner in the RICHWE project, a UN Reporting Initiative on Climate Change, Health, Water, and Environment. She has also worked on projects in Tanzania (focused on deforestation, indigenous rights, and gender-related issues) and Paraguay (focused on migration, deforestation, child labour, women's rights, and WASH issues). She has also worked as a communication and legal assistant for the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), based in Perugia, Italy. In her free time, Sonia likes to read books about psychology and anthropology while listening to jazz music. She also loves travelling and hiking.
Areas of interest/expertise: international law, human rights, migration, asylum, business and human rights, environmental law, policy and legal analysis.
Interns and Research Assistants
Berta Quiñonero
Projects and Research Assistant
Berta is a Health Science graduate from University College Dublin and has recently finished a Master’s in Equality Studies in the same university. Berta joined the Red Cross in 2020, where she was appointed Red Cross Youth Leader for her town’s branch. During her studies, and throughout her experience as a volunteer, she developed an interest in human rights, migration, and examining social inequalities through a gender lens. Berta’s Master’s thesis examined the limbo where former unaccompanied young migrant men from Morocco in Spain reside, and the factors that influence the legal uncertainty they face. This was motivated by her close experience with this community project she was part of for several months. Berta has also completed a module on International Human Rights Law and one on Asylum and Refugee Law through the University of Louvain. During her Master’s, she was lead discussant in a webinar organised by DSA Ireland on Gender, Harm and GBV Discourses. As part of her activism, Berta has organised a movement in Dublin against sexual violence in the war in Ukraine against women and children, leading non-affiliated weekly anti-rape protests. In her free time Berta enjoys practising yoga and teaching it to friends, cooking vegan recipes and going on nature walks.
Projects and Research Assistant
Berta is a Health Science graduate from University College Dublin and has recently finished a Master’s in Equality Studies in the same university. Berta joined the Red Cross in 2020, where she was appointed Red Cross Youth Leader for her town’s branch. During her studies, and throughout her experience as a volunteer, she developed an interest in human rights, migration, and examining social inequalities through a gender lens. Berta’s Master’s thesis examined the limbo where former unaccompanied young migrant men from Morocco in Spain reside, and the factors that influence the legal uncertainty they face. This was motivated by her close experience with this community project she was part of for several months. Berta has also completed a module on International Human Rights Law and one on Asylum and Refugee Law through the University of Louvain. During her Master’s, she was lead discussant in a webinar organised by DSA Ireland on Gender, Harm and GBV Discourses. As part of her activism, Berta has organised a movement in Dublin against sexual violence in the war in Ukraine against women and children, leading non-affiliated weekly anti-rape protests. In her free time Berta enjoys practising yoga and teaching it to friends, cooking vegan recipes and going on nature walks.
Silvia La Tona
Projects and Research Assistant
Silvia is a Development Studies and Chinese graduate student at the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London. She’s currently enrolled in the MSc Environment, Politics and Development at SOAS. Silvia lived in Nigeria, Italy and Taiwan before starting her undergraduate experience in the UK. While studying, she developed a strong interest in sustainable development models as sustainability became more important in market-oriented agendas. Her BA thesis discussed Greenwashing strategies used by multinational companies with a focus on the Ecotourism industry. In her free time, Silvia enjoys volunteering with ‘Rifiutiamoci’, a non-profit organisation for Siracusa’s environmental protection and the Caritas food distribution service. She also enjoys travelling, singing, guitar playing, and discovering Zero Waste practices.
Projects and Research Assistant
Silvia is a Development Studies and Chinese graduate student at the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London. She’s currently enrolled in the MSc Environment, Politics and Development at SOAS. Silvia lived in Nigeria, Italy and Taiwan before starting her undergraduate experience in the UK. While studying, she developed a strong interest in sustainable development models as sustainability became more important in market-oriented agendas. Her BA thesis discussed Greenwashing strategies used by multinational companies with a focus on the Ecotourism industry. In her free time, Silvia enjoys volunteering with ‘Rifiutiamoci’, a non-profit organisation for Siracusa’s environmental protection and the Caritas food distribution service. She also enjoys travelling, singing, guitar playing, and discovering Zero Waste practices.
Inès Orellana
Projects and Research Assistant
Inès has recently graduated with honours from the bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at the University College of Maastricht, Netherlands. She majored in environmental studies and minored in law, leading her to write a thesis on the prospects of judicial participation to improve watershed environmental protection. Inès is of French and Bolivian nationality, and she was born and lived in Brussels until moving to university. During her time in the city, she became a teaching staff, for four years, in the NGO ‘Défi Belgique Afrique’, which educates teenagers on questions of environment and diversity. Inès also became involved in Maastricht’s student associative life, such as ‘Maastricht goes to Calais’, which raises awareness on the situation of migrants in Calais, France. She is currently taking an academic year to follow multiple internships in order to both gain niche knowledge about subjects she like, professionalise her research skills, and discover which speciality she wishes to follow in her future studies.
Areas of interest: environmental issues related to human rights, rights of indigenous populations, conflicts linked to extractive resources, migration, urban-related problems.
Projects and Research Assistant
Inès has recently graduated with honours from the bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at the University College of Maastricht, Netherlands. She majored in environmental studies and minored in law, leading her to write a thesis on the prospects of judicial participation to improve watershed environmental protection. Inès is of French and Bolivian nationality, and she was born and lived in Brussels until moving to university. During her time in the city, she became a teaching staff, for four years, in the NGO ‘Défi Belgique Afrique’, which educates teenagers on questions of environment and diversity. Inès also became involved in Maastricht’s student associative life, such as ‘Maastricht goes to Calais’, which raises awareness on the situation of migrants in Calais, France. She is currently taking an academic year to follow multiple internships in order to both gain niche knowledge about subjects she like, professionalise her research skills, and discover which speciality she wishes to follow in her future studies.
Areas of interest: environmental issues related to human rights, rights of indigenous populations, conflicts linked to extractive resources, migration, urban-related problems.
Luisa Fechner
Projects and Research Assistant
Luisa is currently enrolled in the Global Studies Master’s program at Lund University in the south of Sweden. The interdisciplinarity of the program has given her many insights into different fields of studies, of which she found studies of conflicts and borders with a feminist lens of special interest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in the field of European Studies, during which she spent part of her studies in Romania, focusing on gender equality issues and the developments since the country’s EU accession. In between the degrees, she gained work experience in the field of political education work in Berlin and discovered to enjoy holding workshops and leading group projects. Besides her studies, she likes to be active in student organizations and was the Group Secretary of the Amnesty Student Group in Lund. In her free time, Luisa really enjoys swimming, warm summer evenings, and exploring new cities.
Projects and Research Assistant
Luisa is currently enrolled in the Global Studies Master’s program at Lund University in the south of Sweden. The interdisciplinarity of the program has given her many insights into different fields of studies, of which she found studies of conflicts and borders with a feminist lens of special interest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in the field of European Studies, during which she spent part of her studies in Romania, focusing on gender equality issues and the developments since the country’s EU accession. In between the degrees, she gained work experience in the field of political education work in Berlin and discovered to enjoy holding workshops and leading group projects. Besides her studies, she likes to be active in student organizations and was the Group Secretary of the Amnesty Student Group in Lund. In her free time, Luisa really enjoys swimming, warm summer evenings, and exploring new cities.
Maria Giannakopoulou
Projects and Research Assistant
Maria Giannakopoulou obtained her law degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2008. In 2011 she acquired the license to practice Law from Athens Bar Association. She practiced law both as a freelancer as well as a legal counsel until 2017. The same year she entered the National School of Public Administration, from which she graduated in 2019 as an elite public official. She worked in several public posts until she started her LL.M. in International Law and Global Governance in 2020, with Tilburg University (The Netherlands). She then went to New York (USA) to work as an advisor for the Greek Permanent Mission to the United Nations where she gained invaluable insight in the work of the UN. In her spare time, Maria enjoys capoeira, beach volleyball, and kayaking.
Areas of interest: Public International Law, Human Rights Law, Migration Law and Business and Human Rights
Projects and Research Assistant
Maria Giannakopoulou obtained her law degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2008. In 2011 she acquired the license to practice Law from Athens Bar Association. She practiced law both as a freelancer as well as a legal counsel until 2017. The same year she entered the National School of Public Administration, from which she graduated in 2019 as an elite public official. She worked in several public posts until she started her LL.M. in International Law and Global Governance in 2020, with Tilburg University (The Netherlands). She then went to New York (USA) to work as an advisor for the Greek Permanent Mission to the United Nations where she gained invaluable insight in the work of the UN. In her spare time, Maria enjoys capoeira, beach volleyball, and kayaking.
Areas of interest: Public International Law, Human Rights Law, Migration Law and Business and Human Rights
Senior Consultants
Dr Carol Bohmer
Carol Bohmer, a lawyer and sociologist, is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Government Department at Dartmouth College, and a Teaching Fellow at King’s College, London. She has worked extensively in the area of law and society, examining the way legal and social institutions interact, in the United States, the UK and elsewhere. Her current research interests are in the field of immigration and asylum. She also does pro bono legal work for asylum seekers. She has been involved in setting up a project to register children as British citizens in London, UK. Her most recent book is Rejecting Refugees: Political Asylum in the Twenty-First Century with Amy Shuman, (Routledge, 2007), a comparative study of the asylum process in the US and the UK.
Carol Bohmer, a lawyer and sociologist, is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Government Department at Dartmouth College, and a Teaching Fellow at King’s College, London. She has worked extensively in the area of law and society, examining the way legal and social institutions interact, in the United States, the UK and elsewhere. Her current research interests are in the field of immigration and asylum. She also does pro bono legal work for asylum seekers. She has been involved in setting up a project to register children as British citizens in London, UK. Her most recent book is Rejecting Refugees: Political Asylum in the Twenty-First Century with Amy Shuman, (Routledge, 2007), a comparative study of the asylum process in the US and the UK.
Professor Patricia Mallia
Patricia Mallia obtained her law degree from the University of Malta in 1999. Her post-graduate studies were carried out at Oxford University where she graduated in Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 2000. She then returned to Malta to lecture in Public International Law at the University of Malta where she is now Head of the International Law Department. She obtained her PhD from the IMO, International Maritime Law Institute, focussing on combating contemporary threats to maritime security. Her research interests focus on the analysis of contemporary maritime threats, primarily piracy and migrant smuggling. Her book, ‘Migrant Smuggling by Sea: Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creation of a Cooperative Framework’ was published by Martinus Nijhoff in 2010. In her free time, Patricia enjoys tennis, swimming, baking and reading.
Areas of interest: Settlement of International Disputes, Law of the Sea, Maritime Security, Maritime Migrant Smuggling, Human Rights
Patricia Mallia obtained her law degree from the University of Malta in 1999. Her post-graduate studies were carried out at Oxford University where she graduated in Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 2000. She then returned to Malta to lecture in Public International Law at the University of Malta where she is now Head of the International Law Department. She obtained her PhD from the IMO, International Maritime Law Institute, focussing on combating contemporary threats to maritime security. Her research interests focus on the analysis of contemporary maritime threats, primarily piracy and migrant smuggling. Her book, ‘Migrant Smuggling by Sea: Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creation of a Cooperative Framework’ was published by Martinus Nijhoff in 2010. In her free time, Patricia enjoys tennis, swimming, baking and reading.
Areas of interest: Settlement of International Disputes, Law of the Sea, Maritime Security, Maritime Migrant Smuggling, Human Rights
