The Murad Code Project Team
The Murad Code project is driven and supported by actors from numerous sectors across the world. It is spearheaded by the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI), with a project team that works in collaboration with consultants and partners from across the globe, including survivors, civil-society organisations, governments, inter-governmental and other international organisations, and funders.
Key Contributors and Consultants
This list is updated bi-annually and includes people who have been formally contracted to assist on or otherwise contributed considerably (in terms of volume) to the project within the past few years. Some formally contracted individual and organisational consultants and key contributors unfortunately cannot be named. IICI thanks everyone else who has contributed and continues to contribute to the pursuit of the goals of the Murad Code, including survivors and other experts who contribute during brief discussions and in email exchanges.
Aida Spahic
Aine Sperrin
Amerti Solomon
Andy Sherman
Bakhtyar Karim
Dahlia Seddik
Dalila Seoane
Dr Chris Dolan
Elizabeth Bohart
Erin Gallagher
Galen Lamphere-England
Habiba Makanjuola
Jyotshna Shrestha
KA-Lex
Kateryna Busol
Lara Quarterman
Lisa Davis
Marc Doherty
Members of the IICI-HRC working group on the SCRSV-focused open-source research guide
Michelle Kissenkoetter
Michelle Oliel
Miriam Lewin
Nadine Tunasi
Nelly Warega
Nina Donaghy
Patricia Viseur Sellers
Peninah Kimiri
Penny Hart
Phil Otieno
Pishkafti Shokri
Prime Production Ltd
Priya Gopalan
Rita Kahsay
Sami Shabi
Sherizaan Minwalla
Shivan Toma
Stephanie Barbour
Ulic Egan
Veronique Aubert
Yvonne Fisher
Key Partner Organisations
Dr Denis Mukwege Foundation
SEMA, the Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence
Medica Zenica
Nadia’s Initiative
Refugee Law Project
Project Team
Gabriël
Oosthuizen
Project Lead
Dr Ingrid
Elliott MBE
Deputy Co-Lead
Marion
Volkmann-Brandau
Deputy Co-Lead
Olivia Head
Communications, Advocacy and Project Manager
Click on a Project Team member to view full bio
Origins & Partners
The idea of a global code of conduct for the gathering and use of information about systematic and conflict-related sexual violence originated with the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI). The government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada, is providing funding and other partnership support in 2023-2026. The founding partners of the project are IICI, Nadia’s Initiative, and the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative of the UK Government (PSVI).
Gabriël Oosthuizen
Project Lead
Gabriël Oosthuizen is the Programme Director at the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) and has been the Project Lead on the Murad Code Project since 2017.
Gabriël joined IICI full-time in early 2014. Specialised in the field of international criminal law, his earlier legal advisory, training and management positions include Chief of Party of the Uganda Project of the Public International Law & Policy Group. He was also the Executive Director of the NGO International Criminal Law Services (ICLS); Head, Legal Unit, UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK); and Associate Legal Officer, Chambers, UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). He has edited and written books, academic and NGO publications, and consulted on various areas of law, and on international and southern African affairs. He holds an LLB from the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and an LLM in Public International Law cum laude from the University of Leiden (Netherlands).
Dr Ingrid Elliott, MBE
Deputy Co-Lead
Dr. Ingrid Elliott MBE has been the Deputy Co-Lead on the Murad Code project with IICI since 2019 and is the lead drafter of the Murad Code. She has over 25 years’ experience of investigating and prosecuting international crimes, including at the Bosnia State Court and the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. She has been on the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Team of Experts since 2013, and has worked in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Libya, Myanmar/ Bangladesh and Ukraine. Dr. Elliott has been involved in the development of international best practice standards for CRSV investigations, criminal forensic evidence, prosecutions, and tackling stigma. She is the lead drafter of the Iraq and Syria supplements to the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, and has published on Syria accountability, justice responses to male CRSV and the long-term impacts of CRSV on Syrian men.
Marion Volkmann-Brandau
Deputy Co-Lead
Marion joined IICI as the second Deputy Co-Lead on the Murad Code Project in April 2024. A specialist in human rights, women's rights and transition processes, she was the UNDP Regional Rule of Law, Human Rights and Gender Specialist for West and Central Africa (2021-2023), a region in which she has worked for over 10 years. Her previous experience includes leading or participating in international investigations, including into CRSV, notably for Human Rights Watch, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. She also assisted survivors and victims during the trial of Chadian dictator Hissène Habré. She has contributed to publications and documentaries on the inclusion of women in transitional justice efforts. She holds an LLM in French and German Law (Sorbonne University and University of Cologne) as well as a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Clermont-Ferrand (France).
Olivia Head
Communications, Advocacy and Project Manager
Olivia has been the Communications, Advocacy and Project Manager on the Murad Code Project with IICI since April 2024, based in New York City. Previously, she was a Senior Program Manager at the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, where she worked with partners in Ukraine, Colombia and the Central African Republic to advance the goal of survivor-centered documentation through projects facilitating knowledge-exchange and capacity-building. Olivia also spent four years in the UK's Diplomatic Service, covering a range of policy issues, including CRSV as a member of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) team. In 2016, she co-founded Bread & Roses, a charity providing well-being support and language training to women from refugee backgrounds in London; she is the chair of the charity’s board of trustees.