Gwendolina Gerard

Country Expert on Colombia and the Andean Region — Human Rights, Country Conditions & Protection

Summary
Human rights professional with field experience in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings, specialising in human rights monitoring, country-conditions analysis, protection and evidence-based research. Has conducted field missions, verified information from multiple sources, and produced analytical reports on human rights, security and political developments, particularly in Colombia and the Andean region. Holds a Master's degree in International Human Rights Law and training in Public Policy Analysis from the London School of Economics (LSE), bringing strong analytical, research and report-writing skills and a thorough understanding of international protection, asylum-related issues and the regional dynamics driving displacement and persecution.

Countries of Expertise
Colombia (primary) and the Andean region — Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia; regional displacement, conflict and human-rights dynamics.

Details of Country Expertise
Independent human-rights and country-conditions analysis across Colombia and the Andean region, directly relevant to asylum and international protection claims.

Areas of expertise:

• Country-conditions analysis (Colombia and the Andean region)
• Human rights monitoring and documentation; political and conflict analysis
• Asylum and international protection frameworks
• Evidence verification and source triangulation; protection risk assessment
• Human-rights report review and drafting; open-source and field-based research
• Confidential information management; stakeholder engagement; analytical writing and policy research

Professional services provided:

• Country-conditions and human-rights research, review and validation of reports
• Protection and risk assessment; documentation of violations
• Contextual and political analysis to support advocacy and protection strategies
• Evidence-based analytical briefings and situation updates

Experience
Liaison Officer (2025) and Field Officer (2024–2025), Peace Brigades International (Colombia) — human rights monitoring and international accompaniment in Putumayo, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Cundinamarca; collection, verification and analysis of information through field missions, interviews and media monitoring; assessment of violence, displacement and threats against human rights defenders; supervision of an eight-person field team; engagement with state institutions, diplomatic missions, NGOs and UN agencies. Protection Officer, Plateforme Citoyenne de Soutien aux Réfugiés (Belgium, 2021–2023) — documented protection concerns (GBV, trafficking, forced marriage), protection assessments and case documentation. Field Coordinator, Makerspace Lesvos (Greece, 2020–2021) — needs assessments and testimony documentation with migrants/refugees; collaboration with MSF and MdM. Research Assistant, Université de Liège (2020); Project Coordinator, Bordeaux Métropole (2019).

Education & Training
Master's Degree, International Human Rights Law, Belgium (2022–2023) — thesis on feminist and decolonial analysis in Peace Studies and the war in Afghanistan. Master's Degree, Territorial Management and Local Development, France (2018–2020). Bachelor's Degree, Political Science, France & Mexico (2015–2018). Professional training: Public Policy Analysis, LSE (2026); Advocacy Planning, ACT Alliance (2025); International Humanitarian Law, Belgian Red Cross (2024); International Protection and Asylum Law, Amnesty International (2023).

Languages
French (Native), Swedish (Native), English (Fluent), Spanish (Fluent).

Ethnic Groups
Mestizo majority of the Andean region; Indigenous peoples of Colombia (Wayúu, Nasa, Embera, Misak, Arhuaco and others) and of the wider Andes (Quechua, Aymara and Amazonian Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia); Afro-descendant communities (including Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero); and other Indigenous and Afro-descendant minorities across the region.

Political Groups
Political opposition members and supporters; social leaders, community leaders and human rights defenders (a group facing high rates of killings in Colombia); land and environmental defenders; trade unionists; journalists; former combatants and peace-accord signatories; Indigenous and Afro-descendant leaders; and, across the region, Venezuelan opposition members and dissidents at risk for their real or imputed political opinion.

Religious Groups
Roman Catholics (majority); Evangelical and Protestant Christians; adherents of Indigenous and Afro-descendant spiritual traditions; and religious or social-pastoral leaders targeted for their work.

Other Social Groups
Refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (including Colombia's large IDP population and Venezuelan displacement across the Andes); social, land and environmental defenders at risk; women and girls at risk of gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence; LGBTQ+ individuals; children recruited by armed groups; victims of human trafficking; campesino and coca-region communities; and demobilised ex-combatants.