Our expertise
Migration
Migration is the movement of people away from one place to a new place, either across an international border or within a State.
At Janus, we advocate for migrant rights within the Netherlands and abroad. We offer end-to-end consultancy services for immigrants arriving or settled in the Netherlands, including applications and objections. We pay special attention to vulnerable groups, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clients.
Human Rights
Human rights are rights we have as human beings regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.
They are recorded in a number of international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
At Janus, we are proud to promote and protect human rights across research, advocacy, and policy work. We specialize in particular in accountability for grave violations of human rights, fair trials, and the rule of law.
Transitional Justice
Transitional justice refers to the measures a society takes to overcome a legacy of conflict and abuse. Its primary goals are to ensure accountability, serve justice, provide recognition for victims, and promote long-term reconciliation and peace.
At Janus, we promote a victim and community-centered approach to transitional justice that focuses on good governance and sustainability after conflict. We offer comprehensive consultancy services in good governance, capacity-building, and project work.
To new beginnings
In Roman mythology, Janus is the God of beginnings and endings, passages, and transitions through time and space. Janus presided over the start and end of conflict, including war and peace. He also oversaw journeys, exchange, and navigation.
He is typically depicted with two faces. One looks to the past and the other to the future, symbolizing looking back to reflect while also looking forward to new opportunities.
Janus encapsulates our mission as a firm specialized in the experience of transition, particularly through the lens of migration, human rights, and transitional justice.
Through our work, we aim to ensure that everyone can pursue a new beginning.
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning”
Our Promise
-
We aim to make specialist knowledge understandable, approachable, and useful. Janus communicates in clear language, listens carefully to the people and organizations we work with, and adapts its support to different contexts, capacities, and needs.
We recognize that legal and policy systems can be difficult to navigate, particularly for racialized and marginalized people and communities. Our role is to make expert support more accessible without compromising quality or precision.
-
Janus understands sustainability as closely connected to migration, human rights, equality, and justice. Climate disruption, environmental degradation, and unequal access to resources can deepen displacement, vulnerability, and conflict. We therefore seek to integrate environmental responsibility into both our substantive work and our operations: reducing unnecessary waste, favoring responsible and energy-efficient suppliers and tools, and making informed choices about travel, materials, procurement, and digital infrastructure.
-
Janus is accountable to the people, communities, partners, and clients affected by its work. We take responsibility for the quality, accuracy, and consequences of our advice, research, and engagement. This means being transparent about our role and limitations, protecting sensitive information, managing conflicts of interest, learning from feedback, and correcting mistakes when they occur. We approach accountability as an ongoing commitment to ethical, careful, and trustworthy practice.
Meet the Founder
Omer Hamed, LL.M. (Tilburg University, 2022) is an international lawyer with experience across migration, human rights, and transitional justice.
Starting his career at the United Nations and the International Bar Association, Omer moved into private practice as a migration lawyer before founding Janus. Coming from a migrant-conflict background, Omer is dedicated to advocating for migrant and human rights.
Omer is a network member of Lawyers4Lawyers.

