Fahim Abrar Abid is a legal researcher specialising in international law, human rights, and international protection. He has provided expert opinions in UK First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal proceedings, advised the University of London Refugee Law Clinic, and prepared materials for U.S. immigration matters (USCIS). His work focuses on country conditions, risk on return, political opinion (actual and imputed), minority protection, non-state actor threats, and the treatment of activists, journalists, detainees, and other at-risk groups. He is an Erasmus Mundus Scholar in International Law and Security, Founder of the Bangladesh Society of International Law, and has authored over 20 expert reports across multiple jurisdictions.
Reports delivery: Within 2 weeks (For emergency cases: 1 week)
Founder, Bangladesh Society of International Law
Legal Adviser, Aurora Holdings Ltd.
I have over four years of professional experience working at the intersection of international human rights law, international security, and international protection. My expertise is grounded in a strong academic background in international law, including the law on the use of force, non-state actors, and human rights protection frameworks, which I apply to the assessment of risk in asylum and immigration contexts. In addition to my academic training, I have held institutional roles that have enabled me to develop regionally grounded expertise. As Coordinator of the Bangladesh Campaign at Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), a UN ECOSOC-accredited organisation, I led and supervised research on human rights violations, political violence, minority protection, and state accountability. This role involved extensive engagement with South Asian country contexts, including Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Nepal, and required the analysis of complex interactions between state and non-state actors, governance structures, and patterns of persecution. At the Bangladesh Society of International Law, I lead an annual international law project, including human rights work, on South Asia, and I am co-editing two books on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural rights in South Asia for leading academic publishers. In addition, in my role as a Visiting Researcher at the Global Campus of Human Rights, I have worked particularly on migrant rights in Europe. My expertise is further developed through thematic research on issues central to international protection, including political persecution, religious and ethnic minority rights, honour-based violence, LGBTQ+ persecution, detention and torture, and risks arising from non-state armed groups and ineffective State protection. My work engages closely with contexts involving groups such as Al-Shabaab in Somalia and Kurdish populations in Iran, particularly in relation to state response, security frameworks, and risks of ill-treatment. In parallel, I am engaged in academic and policy-oriented research beyond South Asia. I am currently leading research activities on small arms proliferation and its humanitarian impact in West Africa, which further informs my understanding of violence, insecurity, and state fragility in African contexts. I also serve in editorial and academic capacities, including as Managing Editor of a specialised international law blog, Managing Board Member of a European think tank, and as an editor of the University of Tartu Journal of International Law and Human Rights. These roles involve reviewing and assessing scholarship across diverse jurisdictions, further strengthening my comparative understanding of country conditions and international legal frameworks.
As an Independent Expert and Legal Researcher, I have authored over 20 expert reports, working at the intersection of international human rights law and political analysis, for: • UK First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) proceedings, • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) protection claims, and On multiple occasions, I have advised: • University of London Refugee Law Clinic My expert reports have been instructed by UK solicitors, refugee law clinics, and US-based legal representatives, and have addressed: • risk on return; • credibility assessment in light of country context; • political opinion (actual and imputed); • sur place activities; • treatment of minorities and activists. These reports have covered, among other issues, political persecution, minority targeting, religious persecution, honour-based violence, LGBTQ+ risk, insurgent and non-state actor threats, detention and torture, internal relocation, and the availability and effectiveness of State protection. My expert work has involved the preparation of independent country-condition evidence based on a consistent methodology combining country-of-origin information, legal and policy materials, case-specific documents, and wider academic and human rights research. I have experience addressing both general country conditions and profile-specific risks, including those arising from political affiliation, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, and perceived links to non-state actors. My broader professional and academic work has also involved supervising and producing human rights research, reviewing legal and policy materials, and engaging with complex questions of risk assessment, protection, and return in asylum and human rights contexts. I served as Coordinator of the Bangladesh Campaign at Global Human Rights Defence (The Hague), where I led country-specific legal research on serious human rights violations, supervised research teams, and contributed to reports relied upon by litigators and international advocacy bodies. This role strengthened my ability to synthesise complex country information into legally relevant, evidentially sound analysis. I am available to prepare independent, objective expert reports for asylum, immigration, and human rights proceedings relating to the above-listed countries.
A. Edited Book
1. Prof. Dr. Md. Towhidul Islam and Fahim Abrar Abid, Bangladesh, International Law
and Security in post-July 2024 (Springer 2026). [Forthcoming]
B. Journal and Yearbook Articles
2. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Annexation: A Threat that Never Fades’ (2026) Journal of Conflict and Security Law (Oxford University Press). Read here
3. Dr. Manjida Ahamed and Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘The Failure of an Electoral Government to Protect Human Rights Led to the Emergence of People’s Uprising: Bangladesh Context’ in Matthias Vanhullebusch and Ben Stanford (eds), The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, vol 9 (Brill, 2025) 3–34. Read here
4. Prof. Dr. Md. Towhidul Islam and Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Criminalising Civil Wrongs in Bangladesh: Compatibility with ICCPR’ in Matthias Vanhullebusch and Ben Stanford (eds), The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, vol 9 (Brill, 2025) 107–140. Read here
5. Fahim Abrar Abid, Mahbuba Kamal and Nisharga Nirjan, ‘Student Perspective of the Value of General Education in Professional Studies: Investigating a Law School in Bangladesh’ (2025) 12(2) Asian Journal of Legal Education 153–170. (Sage) Read here
6. Judge Dr. Masrur Salekin, Fahim Abrar Abid and Mahbuba Kamal, ‘Greening the Post-July Aspired Constitution through Pro-activism’ (2025) 24 Journal of Judicial Administrative Training Institute 69–92. Read here
7. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Administrative Borders at the School Gate: Migrant Children’s Right to Education Between the Covenants and the European Human Rights System’ in Czech P and others (eds) European Yearbook on Human Rights, vol 3 (Brill 2026). [Forthcoming]
8. Fahim Abrar Abid ‘Chittagong’s Port Practice and the Genealogy of Innocent Passage: From City-Port Governance to a TWAIL Account for the Law of the Sea’ (2026) Asian Journal of International Law (Cambridge University Press). [Special Issue; Forthcoming]
C. Chapters in Edited Volumes
9. Fahim Abrar Abid and Mahbuba Kamal, ‘Kaptai Dam as the Lake of Tears: An Injustice to the Jummas’ Rights’ in Ananth Padmanabhan, Nabeela Siddiqui and Gnana Sanga Mithra (eds), River Unbound: Exploring Social Currents, Legal Tides and Stories of Flow (Routledge 2025) 86–92. Read here
10. Fahim Abrar Abid and Md. Tanzirul Alam, ‘Water Contamination Risk during Flood and Ensuring Safe Water for Health: A Case Study from Bangladesh, 2024’ in Avijit Roy, Margubur Rahaman and Pradip Chouhan (eds.), Environment and Public Health: Insights Towards Theory, Evidences and Sustainable Solutions (Springer 2026) 281–300. Read here
11. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Reforming Corporate Criminal Liability: Lessons from International Case Studies’ in Meera Mathew, Baidya nath Mukherjee and Daniel Hall (eds), The Evolving Landscape of White-Collar Crime: AI, Technological Advancements, and Transnational Legal Challenges (Springer 2026). [Forthcoming]
12. Md. Ikra and Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘AI-driven Health Insurance: Balancing Legal Challenges and Human Rights’ in Aman Deep Singh and Animesh Pratap Singh (eds), Human Rights at the Intersection of IP, Technology and Emerging Global Issues (Bloomsbury 2026). [Forthcoming; Access here]
13. Fahim Abrar Abid and Mahia Rahman, ‘Constitutionalising Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Bangladesh: Salinity, Food Security and State Responsibility after the ICJ Climate Advisory Opinion’ in Nanigopal Kapasia, Avijit Roy, Margubur Rahaman and Pradip Chouhan (eds), Climate Change and Agricultural Challenges Solutions for Sustainable Livelihood (Springer 2026). [Forthcoming]
14. Fahim Abrar Abid and Muhammad Jabidul Islam Bhuiyan, ‘Not Lex Specialis, Yet: Testing a Complementary Climate-Displacement Regime in Bangladesh in post-ICJ Climate Advisory Opinion 2025’ in Satyabrata Mandal and others (eds), Climate on the Move: Migration, Environment, Health, Economy, and Justice in a Changing World (Springer 2026). [Forthcoming]
D. Short Articles and Academic Blogs (selected)
15. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Crimes Against Culture: The International Law Framework for Cultural Heritage Destruction and its Limitations’ (2025) Harvard International Law Journal. Read here
16. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘The July Revolution: Quota, Discrimination and Equality in International Law (Cambridge International Law Journal Blog, 7 July 2025). Read here
* This blog is a part of the CILJ Symposium ‘Human Rights in Crisis: The July Revolution in Bangladesh’ initiated and curated by Fahim Abrar Abid, and contributed by: Prof. Dr. Md. Towhidul Islam (University of Dhaka), Dr. Manjida Ahamed (Middlesex University), Judge Dr. Masrur Salekin (Bangladesh Judicial Service), and Md. Mostafa Hosain (Brac University).
17. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘When ‘National Interest’ leads to Ecocide: The Unseen Constitutional Violation of Environmental Laws in Bangladesh’ (Oxford Human Rights Hub, 10 October 2024). Read here
18. Fahim Abrar Abid and Mahbuba Kamal, ‘Forest Laws and Human Health in Bangladesh: Dove-tailing Social Science with Natural Science’ (Map of Justice, 23 May 2023). Read here
19. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Beyond the Camp: Is Education a Luxury? A Call for Rohingya Refugee Education and Global Justice’ (2023) Fall issue Global Commons. Read here
20. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Empowering Reproductive Health: Navigating Digital Frontiers in Bangladesh’ (2023) Fall issue Global Commons. Read here
E. Commentary
21. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Water Justice in a Fragmented World Governance, Inequality and the 2026 UN Water Conference’ in Kieran Heid, Sokol Zeneli and Frederike Kanschat (eds) POLIscope Strategic Horizon 2026: Global Agendas and the Forces Reshaping Them (Poliscope Institue 2026) 17–20.
F. Reports
22. Fahim Abrar Abid and others, Annual Human Rights Report 2024: Election, July Revolution, and Minorities in Bangladesh (Global Human Rights Defence 2025). Read here
23. Fahim Abrar Abid, Wiebke Lehner and Maja Przybyszeweka, Women’s Roles in the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide (Global Human Rights Defence 2024). Read here
G. Newspaper Articles
24. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Building a scholarship profile for higher studies abroad’ The Daily Star (Dhaka, 24 October 2024). Read here 25. Fahim Abrar Abid, ‘Bringing Hasina to justice: Legal pathways or dead ends?’ Bangla Outlook (Dhaka, 21 September 2024). Read here
• Bengali and non-Bengali minorities,
• Indigenous and Adivasi communities,
• Jumma peoples/Chittagong Hill Tracts communities,
• Rohingya-related contexts,
• Tamil minorities,
• Kurdish populations,
• Ashraaf and other minority clan groups,
• Bangladesh Awami League (including Bangladesh Chhatra League and Jubo League)
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), including Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal
• Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, including Islami Chhatra Shibir
• Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh
• National Citizen Party and associated post-2024 political formations
• Student protest movements, opposition activist networks, and secular political platforms in Bangladesh
• Politically influential local patronage networks and party-affiliated actors
• Opposition-linked and politically exposed actors in Pakistan
• Kurdish political-risk contexts in Iran
• Al-Shabaab-related political and security contexts in Somalia
• Tamil minority-linked political-risk contexts in Sri Lanka
• Actual and imputed political opinion claims
• Muslims,
• Hindus,
• Christians,
• Buddhists,
• Ahmadis,
• Shia
• Other intra-Muslim minority contexts,
• Atheists,
• Secularists,
• Converts
• Political activist
• Convicted individuals, detainees and former detainees
• Bloggers/Online activists and individuals prosecuted under digital security laws
• Women and gender minorities facing gender-based and honour-based violence
• LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse individuals
• Journalists and media workers
• Human rights defenders and NGO workers
• Student activists and protest organisers
• Climate-displaced and marginalised communities
• Persons alleging torture, disappearance, or custodial abuse
• Migrants, refugees, and stateless persons;