Mr Blerim Mustafa is a Ph.D. candidate and post-graduate researcher at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester (UK) where he writes his Ph.D. thesis on the right of self-determination in the post-Cold War era. Mr Mustafa likewise serves as a communications officer for the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC) and as a digital media and human rights adviser to a former UN Independent Expert / UN Special Rapporteur and Professor of International Law.

Prior to his current functions, Mr Mustafa worked for the International Organization of Migration (IOM) as a Communications and Knowledge Management Associate. He was responsible for contributing to the promotion of the Migrant Assistance Division's (MAD) programmes and policies related to counter-trafficking and assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) of migrants.

Mr Mustafa has also worked as a freelance journalist for an Albanian news agency in Geneva. His news reporting has been cited by leading media outlets in 8 countries. Over his career as a journalist, he has interviewed spokespersons from UNDP, IOM, OSCE, the Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue, the Nobel Peace Prize Institute, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre - the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway as well as Oxford and John Hopkins University. His interest in journalism started while completing his studies in Norway where he served as an interim sports journalist for Norway's leading newspaper, Verdens Gang (VG).

Mr Mustafa has likewise served as a communications consultant for an international communications consultancy (Leidar) and contributed to the execution of advocacy projects for the likes of international organizations, NGOs and private companies - based in Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK) - such as Green Cross International, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, Causedirect, GovFaces, UNI Global Union, the International Basketball Federation, the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation and Yara International.

He has also worked for the likes of the Education Relief Foundation and the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue.

In light of his experience, he has been a panellist at conferences addressing human rights issues held at the United Nations Office in Geneva and at the World Communications Forum which have included speakers from the European Commission, OHCHR, the University of Berkley, UN Volunteers and the International Commission of Jurists. He enjoys publishing poems with Ex Tempore, a literary journal published annually by the United Nations Society of Writers.

Among his academic credentials, Blerim holds an MA in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy, an Executive Certificate in Advocacy in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Oslo. He has likewise completed courses with the University of Cape Town, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), IOM, DiploFoundation and Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP).