Barbara Gala
Countries of Expertise
Specialties
- Child Protection/Child Abuse
- Corruption/Impunity
- Document Authentication
- Gang-Related Violence/Non-State Actors
- Gender-Based Violence (GBV)/Domestic Violence/Family Violence
- Journalist Persecution
- LGBTQ
- Nationality Assessment
- Police Persecution
- Political Persecution
- Risk Of Return
- Safe Internal Relocation
- Sufficiency Of Protection
- Torture
- Trafficking
- Witchcraft Accusations/Ritual Violence
About Barbara Gala
Barbara Gala is a refugee protection specialist with over twelve years of experience with UNHCR (2010–2025), working across Latin America and Europe on refugee status determination (RSD), resettlement, child protection and complex case analysis. She has coordinated RSD teams, conducted in-depth interviews, and drafted legal analyses for asylum and resettlement procedures, with a focus on high-risk profiles including survivors of gender-based violence, LGBTIQ individuals, unaccompanied children, and victims of trafficking, torture, and gang-related persecution. Her experience includes assignments in two different field locations in Ecuador, Italy, Panama, and Guatemala, where she has also reviewed complex RSD decisions and resettlement submissions, and contributed to strengthening analytical standards and protection frameworks.
Throughout her career, she has made extensive use of Country of Origin Information (COI), applying structured research, source evaluation, and contextual analysis to support evidence-based decision-making. She has also provided capacity building to governmental and external actors, including regular briefings to USCIS officers on regional context and caseloads. More recently, Gala has been working as an independent COI expert with WITNESS UK, where she has authored expert reports to support asylum appeals, further consolidating my expertise in producing objective and methodologically sound country analysis.
