Nikhil Narayan – Senior Legal Adviser
Before joining the ICJ, Nikhil served as a visiting scholar and cooperating attorney at the George Washington University School of Law’s International Human Rights Clinic in Washington, DC, teaching and conducting research on crimes against humanity, post-conflict transitions, and human rights and international development. Prior to this, Nikhil served as assistant professor of law at Jindal Global Law School, Jindal Global University, India, where he taught international law. Nikhil has worked extensively with various international and national NGOs throughout South Asia, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East on human rights, transitional justice and post-conflict constitutional reform since 2005. Prior to 2005, Nikhil worked as a litigation attorney at a corporate law firm in New York City. Nikhil received his J.D. from the Columbia Law School, New York, in 2003, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1998
Fanny Cachat – International Programme Manager
Fanny has joined the ICJ in September 2014. Prior to that, she has been managing for seven years justice-related projects in post-conflict settings, working in various international NGOs including RCN Justice & Démocratie, Avocats sans Frontières, and International Bridges to Justice. During these tenures, she interacted with judges, lawyers and human rights activists from Africa and Asia, focusing on access to justice, accountability and local conflict resolution specifically in Burundi and Rwanda where she worked four years. Fanny graduated with a Master in International Relations and Development and a Master in Political Sciences from Sciences Po Bordeaux, France, and holds a BA in International Relations and Political Sciences from the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy. She has been specifically trained in project cycle management and project development.
Govinda ‘Bandi’ Sharma – Consultant
Govinda leads ICJ Nepal’s work on human rights accountability and transitional justice. Before joining the ICJ in May 2007 as a legal officer in the Asia Pacific Programme, Govinda was member of a high level Detainees Investigation Task Force appointed by the Supreme Court of Nepal. He is a Fellowship recipient at Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen (Denmark) and International Service for Human Rights, Geneva. He worked for three years with the Nepal Bar Association as a Vice President. His broad experience includes documentation of human rights violation, transitional justice, legal research, law reform, and national and international public interest litigation. Govinda received his LLM degree in Human Rights from the University of Hong Kong.
Laxmi Pokharel – National Legal Adviser
Laxmi is working on the area of accountability and impunity. She is an advocate and holds LL.M degree in Human Rights and Gender Justice from Purbanchal University. She has practiced law in the courts of Nepal. Prior to joining ICJ, she served as a Legal Aid Officer for 10 years in Legal Aid/ Access to Justice Project of Nepal Bar Association. She is involved in different research works of different organizations and has published articles in national journals related to human rights and women rights issues.
Kashiram Dhungana – National Legal Adviser
Kashiram is working on ICJ Nepal’s Right to a Remedy and Reparation (R2R) Project. Prior to joining ICJ, he worked at Advocacy Forum Nepal as a Human Rights Lawyer / District & Regional Focal Person on Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice & Torture Prevention for nine years. He is a lawyer and has practiced law in the courts of Nepal. He has a Bachelor degree in Law and a Master degree in Political Science from Tribhuwan University, Nepal.
Pooja Shah – Administration Assistant & Logistics Officer
Pooja joined the ICJ in Kathmandu in May 2010. She has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Tribhuwan University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Pokhara University. Prior to joining ICJ, she worked as an intern at Nabil Bank Limited and Himalayan Bank Limited.
Reema Omer – International Legal Adviser for Pakistan
Reema is a lawyer from Pakistan. She did an LLM specializing in public international law at the University of Cambridge in 2009. She was awarded the Commonwealth Pegasus scholarship in 2010 where she worked in barristers’ chambers in London on human rights cases. Reema joined the ICJ in 2011 as a South Asia consultant and since 2013 has served as ICJ’s International Legal Adviser for Pakistan, based in Lahore. Reema is a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and writes regularly for national and international publications on issues of human rights, the rule of law and social justice.
Sanitha Ambast – International Legal Adviser for India
Sanhita qualified as a lawyer in India from the National Law School, Bangalore. Prior to joining the ICJ, she was working with Amnesty International in London, first with the India team, and then with the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Team focusing on the right to health. Sanhita has completed an LLM from Harvard Law School, and an MA in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, specializing in international human rights law.