American Center for Levant Studies

Almoutassim Al Kilani is a Paris-based expert in human rights and international criminal law who also serves as the ACLS legal advisor and regional manager for Europe. Kilani has extensive experience in documenting human rights violations in Syria and has participated in numerous human rights cases relating to the Syrian conflict.

Previously, Kilani worked as the Strategic Litigation Project Manager for the SCM- Paris – France, between 2016-2022 a subsidiary of the International Federation for Human Rights. In that role, he assisted specialist organisations in Europe, the United States, and Canada in human rights litigation and the application of international jurisdiction relating to Syria. In 2017-2018, he also worked as the Legal Forum Program Manager at the Arab Reform Initiative. He has also worked as a legal assistant at the International Refugee Commission, where he specialised in documenting human rights violations in Syria.

After passing the Lebanese and Syrian bar exams, Kilani originally practised as a corporate attorney in Damascus, but he shifted his work to focus on human rights after the onset of the Syrian revolution in 2011. He eventually specialised in comparative international criminal law in the European Union, earning a master’s degree in that subject from Nanterre University in France. In 2017, he also completed a specialized course in refugee law from the Université libre de Bruxelles.

AL Kilani has published numerous legal analysis articles on human rights violations in Syria and many special reports on human rights violations in collaboration with international bodies affiliated to the United Nations.

AL Kilani is originally from Damascus, Syria.