I am a member of the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project housed at the Essex Human Rights Centre under a £5 million research grant funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK. The aim of the project is to apply a human rights perspective to the use of big data, including addressing the threats to human rights posed by big data and using the opportunities presented to advance human rights through developments in ICT. I also serve as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to being a Lecturer in the School of Law at Essex, I am also the Chair of the Geneva-based think tank, Universal Rights Group. I had previously served as the Foreign Minister of the Maldives.