Who we are

The incumbent of the Oxford Buddha Vihara and is the chair of the International Association of Buddhist Universities.

Former Special Envoy for Promotion of Freedom of Religion outside the EU.

Senior fellow at The Century Foundation, non-resident senior fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law.

Senior Advisor on Social and Cultural Development, is chair of UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Religion and Development and and founder of the Multi Faith Advisory Council of the UN IATF-R&D. She also serves as Secretary General of Religions for Peace.

Senior Advisor on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw.

Senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University (USA) and a professor of the practice of development, conflict, and religion in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. Executive director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue and vice president of the G20 Interfaith Association.

Iraqi historian from Mosul, citizen journalist and civil society practitioner.

Senior Researcher at Danish Institute of Human Right specialising in human rights and religion, Islam and Muslim organizations, development and humanitarian aid and freedom of religion.

Law School, Brunel University London/Regent’s Park College, Oxford/Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, UK Senior Lecturer, Brunel Law School, Director of the Religion, Law and International Relations Programme collaborative international research network at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and Managing Editor of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion.

Associate Professor of Islamic Intellectual History and Islamic Studies.

Research professor at Baylor University’s Institute for the Studies of Religion and Principal Investigator for the Religion and Economic Empowerment Project (REEP).

Mr Shaheed assumed his mandate as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in 2016. He is also Deputy Director of the Essex Human Rights Centre, UK.

Professor of international law and religion, Head of Department of International and European Union Law and editor-in-chief Religion & Human Rights.

Lead Social Scientist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank and co-founder of the World Bank’s global ‘Justice for the Poor’ program. He is also a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Professor Mariz Tadros is an IDS Research Fellow specialising in the politics and human development of the Middle East. One of the co-founders of CREID in November 2018, her areas of specialisation include democratisation, Islamist politics, gender, sectarianism, human security and religion and development.

Helen worked as a Project Support Officer for the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) until June 2022. Helen holds a MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh and a BA in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University of Passau. She has worked in international development organizations in Europe and South America.

Dr Shahab worked with CREID on heritage in Iraq until March 2022. She is a Social Anthropologist specialising in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Sofya’s research explores community-based responses to the physical and existential displacements resulting from heritage destruction among ethno-religious minority groups in Iraq and Syria.

Leading communication, engagement strategy and implementation for CREID. Emilie is interested in engaging people with research through communication, and also in whether or how this activity can support evidence-based dialogue and decision making.

Sayid Yousif is Director of Public Affairs at the Al-Khoei Foundation and Director of the Centre for Academic Shi’a Studies. He is a founding trustee of several Muslim organisations, including the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board and the National Council for the Welfare of Prisoners in the United Kingdom. He is also a member of the Faiths Forum for London and has been awarded an OBE for Community Services. Yousif is heavily involved in dealing with community issues such as immigration, health, education, prison service with the home office and police.

Haidar Lapcha is Head of Programmes at Integrity UK. Haidar oversees the management of the organisation’s three departments and its work in the UK, EU and MENA Region, with a focus on Iraq. Haidar is currently overseeing and delivering projects pertaining to promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief throughout Iraq in addition to a programme that empowers peacebuilding civil society in Nineveh.

Project coordinator for Al Khoei Foundation’s Iraq project Religious Education reform. A wealth of experience working in the Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) field coordinating and delivering projects on stabilisation, education, peacebuilding, social development, and civic engagement. Yusra works with local coordinators and stakeholders, as well as researching the application of FoRB. With a background in journalism and media production, Yusra has in-depth knowledge of ethnic conflict, press freedom, displacement, and poverty.

Maryam Kanwer is a human rights activist. Her work focuses on the persecution of marginalised groups based on their ethnic or religious backgrounds in Pakistan. She has worked on youth development through community resilience, peace-building messaging, and conflict resolution. Maryam has been working extensively in human development for over 13 years and currently is affiliated with Al-Khoei Foundation and managing CREID’s work on Pakistan. She is also an IVLP Alumnus 2015 on CVE.

Jaffer is a researcher focusing to Freedom of Religion and Belief with a particular interest on extremism, terrorism, Pakistan and the Middle East. Before joining the Al-Khoei, Jaffer worked for a number of different NGOs and INGOs and think tanks the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs. Jaffer is the author of four research papers, a training manual for countering extremism and for analysis for media outlets.

With more than 15 years’ experience with Minority Rights Group Claire oversees four key areas which she considers critical to MRG’s success. These are Programme Design, Fundraising, Human Resources and Monitoring. Claire has a special interest in cultural programmes, advocacy strategies and techniques, gender, intersectional discrimination as well as the Sustainable Development Goals/Agenda 2030

Mays Al-Juboori is a human rights professional with expertise in conflict, post-conflict, and international Law. At MRG, she works toward building civil society capacity in the Middle East, specialising on Iraq. Mays works closely with local activists on national policy and law, including draft legislation on women and minority rights. She authors human rights publications and provides regular consultation and briefings to governments and international agencies on gender, minority rights, the situation of human rights defenders and internally displaced people. She holds a qualification in Law LLB.

Glenn has been representing MRG at the United Nations since 2013. Previously, he worked as delegate to the UN for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and as UN advocacy officer for the coalition Impact Iran.

Naumana Suleman is a human rights professional, researcher and trainer with two decades of work experience. Her areas of expertise are international human rights law (minority rights, women rights, child Rights, protection of human rights defenders), peacebuilding, conflict analysis and resolution, international/ UN human rights system.

His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Papal Legate to the United Kingdom, was enthroned as the first Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London in November 2017. Focussing on supporting those suffering persecution and displacement, His Eminence’s initiatives relate to advocacy, international religious freedom and development. Founder and convener of the Asylum Advocacy Group which works closely in partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious Freedom or Belief. In 2015 Archbishop Angaelos received an OBE for ‘Services to International Religious Freedom.’

Dr Ewelina Ochab, is Refcemi’s Deputy Director. As a human rights advocate, author and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response; Ewelina leads the agenda on the topics of genocide, persecution of minorities around the world, with primary projects including Daesh genocide in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram atrocities in West Africa, atrocities against the Uyghurs, situation of the Rohingyas, amongst others. A prolific writer, she has written over 30 UN reports (including Universal Periodic Review reports) and have made oral and written submissions at the UN Human Rights Council sessions and the UN Forum on Minority Issues. Ewelina is also credited with authoring the initiative and proposal to establish the UN International Day Commemorating Victims and Survivors of Religious Persecution which led to the establishment of the UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on 22 August each year.

Mark Habib is Refcemi’s Projects Director; responsible for the day to day administration / reporting and financial elements of the joint initiatives between Refcemi & CREID. With a BSc in Economics from the University of Bath, alongside being a Chartered Management Accountant; Mark brings extensive knowledge of both project management and financial reporting to Refcemi. A member of Refcemi since 2021; Mark has worked closely with His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Refcemi’s Founder and Director, and the Coptic Orthodox community in the UK since 2010.

The Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development is currently supported with UK aid funding from the UK Government.