Experts on countries of origin by country

Political scientist with comprehensive experience from research and Country of Origin reports and documents assessments. Research experience on political economy, opposition and political parties, political rights, democratic institutionalisation, NGOs. Expert on human and political rights abuse, political persecution, LGBT persecution, risk of return and of brutal and degrading treatment and torture.

A UK trained Barrister and a practicing lawyer working in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. An avid political enthusiast and human rights activist with the history of academic teaching and research. Very updated with the prevailing human rights condition, political parties and political situation and judicial administration of Bangladesh and regularly providing expert opinion on these issues.

Specialist in political oppression, human rights, Expanding Communal Riot, Rule of Law, Freedom of Speech and Government Rulings, and Security and Justice with a particular expertise on social/ethnic/political groups at risk of persecution in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Myanmar. Experience in writing legal grounds and producing expert reports for asylum cases, persecution, gender inequality, Religious Extremists and vulnerable condition of women and children, etc

Expertise in the Laws of Immigration, Right of Immigrant, Human Rights under the purview of various Social and Political aspects of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Myanmar.

The Expert (Ph.D. Cambridge 2002, British Academy postdoctoral fellow 2003-6 at the School of Oriental and African Studies, The University of London) is a social anthropologist specializing in Nepal in particular and South Asia more generally. His acquaintance with South Asia spans over 31 years, including over ten years of researching and working in Nepal and over five years of living in India. While at SOAS, he taught an MA course on “The Anthropology of South Asia”. The Expert specializes in various aspects of Nepalese and other South Asian cultures and societies, including politics, kinship, gender, and religion. 

In recent years he has been asked to comment and advise to ACCORD (Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation), providing expert knowledge and answering specific questions on various aspects relating to Nepalese society. The Expert worked with many refugees and asylum seekers from various Asian countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar while he served as Associate Durable Solutions Office in UNHCR’s Kathmandu office, Nepal (2008-9). There, he became familiar with the RSD process and UNHCR country files, and held many focus group discussions and individual interviews with… Read more

Barrister-at-Law

Advocate,

Supreme Court of Bangladesh

Researcher and consultant of immigration law

The Expert is a Barrister-at-Law of England and Wales and a Practising Lawyer in the Courts of Bangladesh with tact and expertise in International Law or Treaties, Human Rights Law, Immigration Rules and Regulations of the United Kingdom, Asylum, Convention Rights International Relations between Bangladesh and other nations,

The Expert is a Professor in the Security Studies Program within Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She previously served as a senior political scientist with the RAND Corporation, a political officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in Kabul, and a senior research associate at the United States Institute of Peace.  Her most recent book is In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2018/2019).  She has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books, including Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War (Oxford University Press); Pakistan’s Enduring Challenges (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents (Oxford University Press, 2014); Political Islam and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2010); Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan (USIP, 2008), and The Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States (Globe Pequot, 2008), among others. 

She is a member of Women in International Security, International Studies Association, American Political Science Association, the… Read more

Dr Ashraf Hoque is a social anthropologist with extensive fieldwork experience in Bangladesh and the UK. An expert on Bangladeshi society and culture, with particular expertise on Bangladeshi politics, human rights (gender and sexuality), religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Atheists), blasphemy and apostasy, Islamic law, trafficking, and the British-Bangladeshi community. He has written Expert Reports and provided oral evidence at immigration and family law tribunals in over 200 cases, covering the following areas:
• The Awami League (including Bangladesh Chhatra League)
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (including the Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal)
• Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh (including Chhatra Shibir)
• Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh
• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
• Ansarullah Bangla Team
• Hizb-ut-Tahrir
• Purbo Banglar Communist Party
• Persecution of Hindu and Christian minorities
• Persecution of Biharis
• Persecution of atheists, Humanists, and apostates
• Persecution of bloggers and journalists
• Gender relations (patriarchy, domestic violence, honour killings)
• Status of LGBT communities
• Human trafficking (labourers, women, children)
• Land disputes
• Mental… Read more

The Expert is a UK-educated Barrister (NP) with extensive fieldwork experience in Bangladesh and the UK. He is a Lecturer at BAC International Study Centre based in Bangladesh. An expert on Bangladeshi society and culture, with particular expertise in Bangladeshi politics, human rights (gender and sexuality), religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Atheists), he has conducted research, advisory and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and other political rights, anti-corruption, violence against women, minority rights, etc. There is a strong network of experts all over Bangladesh to verify legal and other documents as required. In addition, the expert is available and able to give oral testimony before any court and tribunal if necessary to support his opinion.

Saqeb Mahbub is a UK-educated Barrister, independent judicial reform consultant and part-time Lecturer at North South University based in Bangladesh. Besides legal practice, the expert is regularly consulted by international organisations such as UNDP, UNHCR and USAID. He has conducted research, advisory and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and other political rights, anti-corruption, violence against women, minority rights, etc. Saqeb Mahbub has produced expert reports for UK and US courts and tribunals covering the following topics:
(i) Political situation in Bangladesh (including in-depth analysis of all the political parties (BNP, Jamaat, etc), senior and local leaders of opposition parties);
(ii) The criminal justice system; 
(iii) Laws curtailing free speech, state attitude towards opposition;
(iii) Judicial independence;
(iv) Freedom of speech; 
(v) Extra judicial killings;
(vi) Enforced disappearances;
(vii) Police Harassment; 
(viii) Ghost and False cases;
(ix) Persecution of human rights defenders; 
(x) Persecution of LGBTQ community members; 
(xi) Persecution of religious minorities and violent extremism;
(xii) Persecution… Read more

The Expert is an internationally renowned and award-winning academic and consultant specialising in violence against women and minorities, and racial and religious persecution in the South Asia and Muslim majority countries.

A labour expert by training, The Expert works on labour migration, refugee, remittances, settlement, diaspora, trafficking, exile and other inter-related issues. He has vast experience working with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and academic institutions. The Expert has gained extensive fieldwork experience in Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia.

Within the short span of his career, he has more than 30 publications on his credit, including authored books, journal articles, policy documents, project documents, and research chapters.

The Expert is currently working as an Assistant Professor with the Centre for Development Practice and Research, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has also been associated with the Institute for Human Rights and Business as a South Asia Regional Hub consultant for the IHRB Migrant Workers Programme. The Expert is a Visiting Senior Fellow of the International Institute of Migration and Development and Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism.

The Expert has completed his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University and has received professional training from prestigious institutions like the European University Institute, International Labour Institute, African… Read more

I am a Barrister-at-Law of England and Wales, with tact and expertise in International Law or Treaties, Human Rights Law, Immigration Rules and Regulations of the United Kingdom, Asylum, Convention Rights International Relations between Bangladesh and other nations. I have recently completed my Master’s degree in Human Rights from London School of Economics and Political Science, where I gained in-depth understanding of the origin, background, objectives, and various aspects of human rights law.

The Expert is an Advocate from Bangladesh, holding substantial fieldwork experience within the country. She earned her LLB (Hons) from the University of London and completed her LLM (Master of Law) with a specialization in Victimology and Restorative Justice at Dhaka University.

She has attended various training programs, including "Transitional Justice in Asia and Participatory Research Tools with Survivors" organized by the Centre for the Study of Genocide and Justice, and "Human Rights and Gender Relation Analysis" organized by Ain o Shalis Kendra. Her expertise lies in Bangladeshi society and culture, particularly in the realms of Bangladeshi politics, human rights (focusing on gender and sexuality), and the rights of religious minorities (Hindus, Christians, Atheists). `

The Expert has actively contributed to research, advisory, and consultancy projects in Bangladesh, concentrating on formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech, political rights, anti-corruption measures, violence against women, and minority rights. She maintains a robust network of experts throughout Bangladesh for document verification and is available to provide oral testimony in any court or tribunal, if necessary, to support her expert opinions.

The Expert is a specialist in the history and anthropology of West Africa, especially related to conflict, gender-based violence, and traditional harmful practices. For the past 17 years they have lived and worked across West Africa, in particular Liberia and Ghana, as well as Benin, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. Since 2019 The Expert has worked as the Director of an Oxfordshire-based research company, Résolu Ltd. Prior to this, they held positions as Assistant Professor in Gender Violence at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Tutor in Gender, Geography & Environment at University of Oxford, and various other roles related to gender-based violence research in West Africa. Their work has been published in Routledge, Third World Quarterly, and Democracy In Africa. The Expert completed their DPhil at University of Oxford School of Geography and the Environment in 2016.

The Expert acquired her doctoral training in biological anthropology from Emory University and is an Associate Research Scientist at NYU and incoming Postdoctoral Fellow in the Dept. of Psychology at Yale University. Her research focuses on characterizing heterogeneity in post-traumatic stress and treatment outcome among high-risk populations in Vietnam, Jordan, and Bangladesh.

The Expert is a Barrister-at-Law of England and Wales. The Expert is a practicing Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He holds the position of Head of Chambers at "Justice for All', with nearly a decade's experience in legal practice. The expert regularly moves before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh for various matters including Writ (Judicial Review), Criminal and Civil Appeal and Revision, Bail Petition, Intellectual Property, Company Matter, Inheritance, Public Interest Litigation, Muslim Personal Law,  Succession Law,  Hindu Law, etc.

Parallel to his legal pursuits, the expert is the Legal Affairs and Political Editor of The Daily Campus and columnist. Accumulatively, he possesses over 18 years of sustained experience as a Journalist in Bangladesh, having written extensively on a broad range of issues, including human rights, the criminal justice system, politics, education, health, mental health, and international laws.

The Expert is an academic specialist in the politics and international relations of South Asia, & the Middle East with almost two decades of experience studying the region. The Expert has conducted research, advisory, and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and other… Read more

Lesley Jo Weaver, PhD, MPH, is an academic expert in medical anthropology, global health, mental health, race, gender, chronic diseases, food insecurity, and homelessness. Her research focuses, broadly, on the social production of health and illness. In the US, Weaver's federally funded research addresses the ongoing crisis of houselessness in the Pacific Northwest by exploring stress and health among people living with insecure housing. In India, Weaver’s federally funded research explores how the day-to-day management of type 2 diabetes shapes North Indian women’s abilities to participate in social roles considered appropriate for women of their age, class, and caste groups. She also studies how South Indian women explain and understand distress, and what they do when they are so stressed that they need to seek help. In Brazil, Weaver’s work has examined how food insecurity influences physical and mental wellbeing. In addition to this fieldwork, Weaver co-hosts and co-produces the academic podcast Speaking of Race, a longstanding program that explores the history and present-day reverberations of scientific racism around the world.