Ms. Sirva has worked in the field of refugee law since 1995 and was a senior lawyer and expert at the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre until 2006. She holds an LL.M and is at present pursuing post-graduate studies for Doctor of Laws in the Turku University. Her thesis is Refugees' Right to Family Reunification under International Law. Through her volunteer work, she has been a sponsor of four children and one family in Ethiopia, Kenya and India. She has a special interest in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia and Eritrea. She has spent time working as an ICMC Resettlement Consultant for UNHCR`s office in Libreville, Gabon. Ms. Sirva is a mother of a Finnish-Eritrean daughter, Sofia, born in 2005.