Archil Avalishvili

Country Expert on the South Caucasus — International Refugee, Migration & Human Rights Law / Country of Origin Information (COI) Research

Summary
Georgian lawyer and Country of Origin Information (COI) specialist with over a decade of experience in international refugee law, migration policy and human rights. ACCORD-certified COI researcher who served as a consultant to the Common Courts of Georgia and as a UNHCR COI Researcher for the Tbilisi City Court and Tbilisi Court of Appeals, conducting objective country-of-origin analyses to support judicial and asylum procedures. Holds an LL.M. from the University of Potsdam and a Magister in Legal Science from Tbilisi State University, with professional working proficiency across four languages. Extensive experience training judges, legal-aid lawyers and court staff on COI research and refugee law.

Countries of Expertise
Georgia (primary) and the wider South Caucasus — Armenia and Azerbaijan; regional migration, displacement and human-rights dynamics, including the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Details of Country Expertise
Independent country-of-origin and human-rights analysis across the South Caucasus, relevant to asylum and international protection claims.

Areas of expertise:

• Country of Origin Information (COI) research and assessment (ACCORD-certified)
• International refugee law and international migration law (International Institute of Humanitarian Law, Sanremo)
• International human rights law and freedom of expression (Amnesty International; Free University of Georgia)
• Internally displaced persons (IDPs): right to return and compensation; property rights in occupied territories
• Labour migration management, migration policy and state-security/human-rights balancing
• European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) appeal procedures

Professional services provided:

• COI research and expert assessments to support courts and asylum procedures
• Legal analysis and report preparation on refugee, migration and human-rights matters
• Training-of-trainers and capacity building for courts, legal-aid lawyers and NGO staff on COI research
• Moderation and facilitation of trainings and high-level conferences

Experience
Regular & Regional Migration Advisor for the GIZ Global Programme "Shaping Development-Oriented Migration" (2023–present); Consultant to the Common Courts of Georgia on COI (2020–2025); National Long-Term Expert at GOPA Worldwide Consultants (2020–2022); UNHCR Consultant / COI Researcher for the Tbilisi City Court and Court of Appeals (2018–2020); Program Manager, Migration for Development (GIZ/CIM, 2015–2017); Project Manager (GSMEA, EU Mobility Partnership project); Lawyer at the Georgian Center for Security and Development; and earlier internships with UNHCR and the Embassy of Georgia in Germany. Education: LL.M., University of Potsdam (2012–2014); Magister and Bachelor in Legal Science, Tbilisi State University. Trainer for Legal Aid Service lawyers and Common Courts of Georgia on "Researching Country of Origin Information".

Publications
The European Model of Labor Migration Management: Modern Challenges of Balancing State Interests and Human Rights and Georgia (2023), in Human Rights Protection: European Experience and National Challenges (Georgian). The Problematic Aspects in Georgian Legislation Concerning Labor Migration — Master thesis, Tbilisi State University (Georgian, 2017). Property Rights in the Occupied Territories under Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights (Georgian, 2015). Georgian Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) under International Law – Their Right to Return and Right to Compensation — LL.M. thesis, University of Potsdam (German, 2014). Middle East Conflict in the Framework of International Law (German, 2013). Indispensable Repulse and a Right of Self Defense — exchange-programme prize paper, Humboldt University of Berlin (German, 2011).

Languages
Georgian (Native); English (Full Professional Working Proficiency); German (Full Professional Working Proficiency); Russian (Professional Working Proficiency).

Ethnic Groups
Georgians (including Mingrelian and Svan sub-groups); Armenians; Azerbaijanis; and minority communities of the South Caucasus — Abkhaz, Ossetians, Yazidis, Kurds, Assyrians, Kists (Pankisi Gorge), Talysh, Lezgins and others; as well as ethnic-minority internally displaced persons from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Political Groups
Political opposition members and supporters; civil society activists and human rights defenders; journalists and media workers; anti-government protesters; persons displaced by the Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts; individuals evading or objecting to military service; and persons at risk for their real or imputed political opinion.

Religious Groups
Georgian Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Christians; Muslim communities (Azerbaijani Shia and Sunni, Georgian Muslims of Adjara, Kists); Yazidis; religious minorities facing discrimination (Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants, Catholics); and converts or persons accused of apostasy.

Other Social Groups
Refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (notably from Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh); women and girls at risk of gender-based and domestic violence; LGBTQ+ individuals; ethnic and religious minorities; victims of human trafficking; and returnees and labour migrants.