Short Profile
Bechara Samneh is a PhD researcher in International Development Studies at Ruhr University Bochum, funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung. His research examines humanitarian governance and the inclusion and exclusion of LGBTIQ+ populations in contexts of crisis and displacement, with a particular focus on Lebanon and the SWANA region.
His research brings together perspectives from international development, humanitarian studies, migration studies, political sociology, intersectionality, and queer migration studies. He has extensive professional experience in humanitarian programming, civil society, public policy, and LGBTIQ+ rights across the SWANA region. He currently serves as Executive Director of MOSAIC MENA, a leading regional LGBTIQ+ organisation, and as West Asia Board Representative at ILGA Asia. Alongside his doctoral research, he is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University. He has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications addressing migration, sexuality and gender, humanitarian response, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, and social inclusion.
Research Focus
- Humanitarian Governance
- Humanitarian Aid and Protection
- Forced Migration and Displacement
- Refugee Protection
- LGBTIQ+ Studies
- Sexuality and Gender
- Queer Migration
- Intersetionality
- Institutional Practices
- Vulnerability and Resilience
- Queer Studies
- International Development
- Middle East Studies
- SWANA
- Lebanon