Shabari comes to ICMC with a professional, academic and personal background in migrant labour, migrant rights and journalism. Working the last three years at IOM and in a human rights NGO in Geneva, Shabari developed expertise, advocacy strategies, reports and relationships with States, UN agencies and civil society on, among others, matters of labour migration (notably from South Asia and Southeast Asia to Gulf countries), xenophobia and racism, the right to health and the situation of vulnerable populations in the Middle East and Asia. In 2009, Shabari was a key member of the team organizing an interactive dialogue between civil society and the President of the UN General Assembly on the World Financial and Economic Crisis, during the President’s visit to Geneva.

Achieving a Masters degree in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and a double university degree in Communications and Asia and International Studies from Griffith University, Australia, Shabari wrote his thesis comparing international and national frameworks on the human rights of unskilled migrant workers in the Gulf; he has also conducted field and case study visits to China, New Zealand and Qatar. Born in Kerala the son of an Indian migrant worker in Qatar, he speaks Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil, as well as English.

Shabari’s particular focus will be on the priorities of ICMC members and operations in the areas of labour migration, human trafficking and migrant rights, including continued follow-up, at the international level, on the gaps and recommendations identified in our ongoing regional consultations with ICMC members in Asia and worldwide.

Shabari can be reached at nair@icmc.net< or by phone, +41 22 919 10 40.