The Expert is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East.
Costa Rican Expert - Dynamic legal specialist with expertise spanning criminal justice, human trafficking, and international law. Proven track record in designing and executing training programs, collaborating with diverse teams, and providing technical assistance to enhance governmental responses. Skilled in litigation, case management, and legal research across various legal domains.
The Expert is a former Afghan diplomat and PhD Candidate in law at SOAS University of London and have extensive knowledge from her PhD research and Country of Origin reports and documents assessment. She specialises on human rights, Islamic and customary laws, and gender related issues with a specific focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. She is also an Associate member in the Practicing Category as a Country of Origin Expert with the Academy of Experts.
Dr Jawad Hassan Zadeh is an Expert Witness with experience of working in Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s affairs. As of February 2022, he has prepared 1,128 expert reports for over 200 law firms and non-legal organisations based in France, Greece, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Expert provides three services concerning cases from Afghanistan (1) country of origin expert opinions on human rights, culture, ethnic groups, religions, laws, government and non-state actors (2) conducts forensic examination of all types of documents originating from Afghanistan (3) interviews the ‘disputed nationality’ claimants from Afghanistan with a view of producing linguistic and nationality of the disputed clients.
The expert provides country expert reports for Pakistan, conducts nationality assessment interviews for Pakistani nationals whose nationality and origin are disputed and verifies the authenticity of Pakistani documents.
The Expert is a Professor of African History, a director of Enslaved.org, and an editor of the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation at Michigan State University. His areas of research specialization are West Africa, the Atlantic, and Brazil. He lived in Guinea-Bissau for two years and return frequently for research. The Expert also travels frequently to The Gambia and Senegal. He has lived in Cape Verde, Portugal and Brazil for research purposes. He is particularly interested in the history of slavery and the Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans. Much of his research has focused on African agricultural practices, religious beliefs, and family structures in the Old and New Worlds.
His first book, Planting Rice and Harvesting Slaves: Transformations along the Guinea-Bissau Coast, 1400–1900 (Heinemann: 2003), explores the impact of interactions with the Atlantic on small-scale, decentralized societies. His most recent book, From Africa to Brazil: Culture, Identity, and an Atlantic Slave Trade 1600-1830 (Cambridge: 2010), examines the trade in enslaved people from Upper Guinea to Amazonia Brazil. He has published in a range of scholarly journals such as Journal of African History, Luso-Brazilian Review, Slavery and Abolition, Africa, Journal of Global History, American… Read more
The Expert has a diverse background in roles such as project management, program development, and research in international affairs. The expert’s current position as a Project Manager and Researcher reflects her commitment to making a meaningful impact on regional and global development efforts with the specialism in Balkan affairs.
John Heathershaw is Professor of International Relations at the University of Exeter. His research addresses conflict, security, and development in global politics, especially in Central Asia. He is author of Post-Conflict Tajikistan (Routledge, 2009), Dictators Without Borders (Yale, 2017), The UK’s Kleptocracy Problem (Chatham House, 2021) and over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles including in International Studies Review, the European Journal of International Relations, the Journal of International Relations and Development, the Review of International Studies, and the Journal of Democracy. John is currently the principal investigator of a research project which seeks to identify the characteristics of kleptocratic enabling networks via an analysis of the data of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. In 2021/22, he was a senior fellow of British Academy studying relations between postcommunist elites and British professional service providers.
Heathershaw has previously been on the faculty of the American University in Central Asia, the London School of Economics, Kings College London, and the University of Notre Dame. Prior to entering academia, Heathershaw was a research analyst at the Ministry of Defence… Read more
The Expert is a medical anthropologist (PhD completed 2022) and MD candidate with expertise working in Haiti from 2017-present. Her focus is on the effects of ongoing political instability, gang violence, kidnappings, and material shortages on the care for individuals with cancer and other chronic conditions. She has conducted fieldwork around the country, including in Port-au-Prince, the southern peninsula, and the central plateau, specifically examining the effects of insecurity, stress, and lack of access that stem from Haiti's violent and chaotic political instability.
Lecturer at the Institute for Anthropology, University of Leipzig. Conducted in total three years of field research in northern Somalia. Published author and experienced in expert reports on Somalia/Norther Somalia, in particular, northern Somali clans (Isaaq, Darood/Harti, Dir), minorities in (southern) Somalia such as Midgan, Asharaf and Sheikhaal, and issues of health care and mental health.
The Expert is a Country Expert and academic with extensive fieldwork expeirience and providing expert reports (100+) for more than 40 firms in the UK, US, Netherlands, and Canada with areas of expertise such as but not limited to:
- Authentication documents originating from countries of expertise
- Country reports on the indicated countries of expertise
- Minority groups, religious groups
- Political, social and cultural groups: LGBT
- Organized crime and mafia, state crime
- Extremist and violent groups, including religious groups
- Human rights violations
- Women issues: honor killing
- Human trafficking
- Psychiatry and prison conditions
- Disadvantaged groups e.g. children, minorities, mentally ill, disabled, terminally ill
- Availability of medical services
- State structure, military and security services
- Drug dealing and trafficking
Current Position
Director of Research – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – Panthéon Sorbonne Paris 1, Institut des Science Juridique et Philosophique de la Sorbonne
2017 – current – Senior Research Fellow – Centre for Socio-Legal Studies – School of Law - University of Oxford
2016 – current – full professor with tenure (on Leave) – University of Padua
2016 – 2021 – PI of European Research Council project – Cultural Expertise in Europe (EURO-EXPERT)
Past Position
2018 – 2020, Senior Research Fellow – Centre for Socio-Legal Studies – University of Oxford
2013 – 2016, Professor of Behavioural Sciences (Anthropology) – Department of Behavioural Sciences and Karakoram Centre for Culture and Heritage
2013 – 2016, Dean of Faculty – Humanities and Social Sciences – Karakoram International University
Professor of Anthropology - LUMS
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, human trafficking, and the British-Bangladeshi community. He has written Expert Reports and provided oral evidence at immigration and asylum tribunals in over 400 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 LGBTQI communities
• Human trafficking (labourers, women, children)
• Land disputes
• Mental illness
• Healthcare
• Blood feuds
•… 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.
The Expert is until recently a Professor of Anthropology at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. Huang’s specialty includes religion, gender, and migration. She has done fieldwork in Taiwan, Malaysia, the United States, and shorter periods of research in Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, and China. The Expert has published articles in the Journal of Asian Studies, Ethnology, Positions, Nova Religio, the Eastern Buddhist, and the European Journal for East Asian Studies. She is the author of Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement (Harvard University Press, 2009) and a co-author of Religion and Charity: The Social Life of Goodness in Chinese Societies (co-authored with Weller and Wu)(Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Erfan Ibne Aman Omi is a UK-educated Barrister, and a Practicing Lawyer in the Courts of Bangladesh. He has a rich and diverse background in law, particularly with a focus on both the UK and Bangladesh legal system. He holds the position of Head of Chambers at "Liberty Chambers”, with nearly a decade’s experience in legal practice. His work alongside local politicians and social workers in Bangladesh provided him with valuable insights into national and local political structures, which is crucial for understanding the legal landscape in that region. This experience gives him a nuanced understanding of how the law interacts with politics and social issues in Bangladesh. His knowledge of religion, society, culture, and politics in these regions is valuable in legal contexts where these factors intersect with the law. This makes him a regional expert of South Asia and the Muslim world, especially related to religion, society, culture, and politics.
The Expert has a comprehensive skill set and background that enables him to navigate complex legal issues in diverse cultural and political contexts effectively. His expertise in Bangladeshi society and culture, coupled with his deep knowledge of Bangladeshi politics, human rights issues, and immigration regulations in… Read more
Dr Imam brings more than two decades of experience in mixed methods international social science practice, research, and teaching around the world, focusing on East and West Africa, South Asia, USA, and Central Asia. Her interests involve research, development, and instruction on advanced issues of human rights, international conventions on human, civil, and political rights, and against torture; police service, judicial and quasi-judicial institutions, and persecution; grievance redressal arrangements; gender analysis, gender equality, gender-based violence, forced marriages, and sexual abuse; child abuse, child marriages, and violence against children; climate-related issues; and more. She has written books and scholarly articles about public administration, employing quantitative data and qualitative streams of historical changes in socioeconomic, judicial, political, and administrative institutions.
Her work employs innovative research methodologies, focusing on getting to the crux of socio-cultural and institutional situations to deliver efficient solutions that take into account complex dynamics involving human rights, child rights, gender equality, sustainability, and other such standards, in diverse socio-political contexts.
An experienced lawyer with in-depth expertise in the legal system of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, specialising in ethnic groups, human rights, and immigration law.
Balkans Region Expert with twenty (20) years of experience in conflict, post-conflict and development context in Serbia and Kosovo. Highly experienced in the field of human rights, rule of law, democratization, empowering minorities, youth and women, gender based violence, and international humanitarian law
Lecturer in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh with extensive experience researching and writing about violent social groups and discrimination in selected African countries.
I am a UCL social science researcher in the field of Applied and Socio-linguistics, focusing on how experiences and claims of people seeking asylum in the UK and Europe as stateless people of Kuwait (i.e., Bidoon Kuwaitis) are communicated and disputed. My research is (in)formed by my training in refugee and forced migration studies at the University of Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre and my lived experiences as a Bidoon Kuwaiti person going through the UK asylum system and eventually being recognised as a refugee following a successful appeal in which I was found to be a witness of truth.