Jon Unruh is a seasoned research and policy advisor with over 25 years of expertise in international development. Jon specializes in housing, land, and property restitution (HLP) processes, particularly in regions affected by conflict. His diverse background includes extensive work in areas such as research, policy formulation, natural resources, environmental issues, and land and property rights.
As a Canadian Technical Advisor for the Technical Assistance Partnership – Expert Deployment Mechanism (TAP-EDM) initiative, Jon collaborates with the Government of Vietnam’s National Assembly, specifically the Council of Ethnic Rights, to support implementing Vietnam’s Land Reform and Ethnic Minority Rights. The initiative aims to assess the impact of land reform processes on ethnic minorities, ensuring their relevance and appropriateness within the broader context of Vietnam’s policies.
Jon is a professor in the Department of Geography at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. His extensive research and policy work has taken him to various conflict-affected regions, including Darfur, Liberia, Somalia, Mozambique, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Madagascar, Cambodia, Angola, Cameroon, Jordan, Colombia, Peru, Zanzibar, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia. Collaborating with organizations such as the United Nations, The World Bank, USAID, and DFID, Jon has recently contributed to UN-led HLP restitution and evaluation programs in Sri Lanka, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.