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Professor of Applied Legal Studies at the College of Law, Qatar University.

The professional expertise of Dr. Matar lies in the field of comparative law and international law, with a specific focus on international human rights law. He is widely recognized as an international expert in the area of anti-trafficking legislation, having dedicated over 15 years to working in more than 75 countries, including those in the Middle East region. His efforts have been aimed at promoting adherence to international human rights standards and providing guidance to governments in the drafting and implementation of legislation to combat human trafficking and protect human rights.

عIn 2011, Dr. Matar assumed the role of Executive Director and played a pivotal role in the Protection Project and Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. His work centered around combating human trafficking, clinical legal education, corporate social responsibility, legal reform, religious dialogue promotion, civil society capacity building, and human rights education. Dr. Matar has significantly contributed to legal education in Arab universities and was appointed as the Director of the Legal Clinic at the College of Law at Qatar University.

He has testified before various sessions of the United States Congress, including the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the Helsinki Commission on Security and Cooperation, the House Committee on Government Reform, the House Subcommittee on Human Rights, the House Committee on International Relations, the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights, and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Rights. His testimonies focused on the global issue of human trafficking. Furthermore, Dr. Matar has provided testimony before esteemed organizations such as the Russian State Duma, the Mexican Senate, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Egyptian Parliament. He has also been appointed as a member of several United Nations expert groups and has served as an advisor to prominent entities including the League of Arab States, the United Nations Development Program, the International Labor Organization, the International Organization for Migration, UNFEM, SIDA, the World Bank, and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He has authored a parliamentary guide on effective responses to combat human trafficking and recently played an active role in the drafting of the United Nations Model Law on Access to Justice.

Dr. Matar has an extensive teaching background, having instructed various courses such as international human trafficking, corporate social responsibility, international contract law, comparative law, obligations, labor law, evidence, lease, contract drafting techniques, investment and trade laws in the middle east, Islamic laws in American courts, drafting human rights legislation, professional ethics, legal business clinics, introduction to the American legal system, international business and human rights, and the Arab charter on human rights and international human rights. He has held positions as an esteemed professor of advanced international studies at Johns Hopkins University, where he established the first legal clinic and launched a journal focusing on human rights and civil society. In this capacity, he served as both the editor-in-chief and the founder. Additionally, he has served as a professor at the American University, George Washington University, and Indiana University. Currently, he holds a part-time teaching position at Alexandrina University. Dr. Matar has made significant contributions to academic research and has published numerous papers covering a wide range of topics. These include the application of international principles in commercial contracts within Arab regulations, mixed legal systems, procedural justice within Islamic law, human trafficking legislation in Arab jurisdictions, the evaluation of the Arab Charter of Human Rights in relation to national, regional, and international standards, corporate responsibility for human rights violations, combating human trafficking, interpreting the liability of a legal person under the International Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the rights of victims of violence against women in accessing international forums, human rights approaches and Islamic law within the Iraqi constitution, criminal liability and social responsibility of multinational corporations, interpretation of American law to protect victims of human trafficking, a comparative study of national and international reports issued by the United Nations, elements of drafting legislation to combat human trafficking between the United Nations Protocol and the European Convention, and the parliamentary book on combating trafficking in persons in accordance with the provisions of international law and comparative legislative models.   Dr. Matar holds a Ph.D. degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Law from Tulane University in Louisiana, a Master’s degree in Comparative Law from Miami University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Alexandria University. His remarkable efforts have been recognized through several awards, including accolades from the Qatari Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking and the Excellence Award in Public Service in International Law from the American Bar Association. Furthermore, Dr. Matar has been the recipient of grants from both the US Fulbright Program and the British Council.