At the request of Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, Hossain visited Cameroon and The Gambia to assess the conditions of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The Secretary-General entrusted a team including Hossain with assessing Cameroon's eligibility for Commonwealth membership. He also led Commonwealth missions on energy-related matters. He was part of the Commonwealth observer team during the 1994 South African general election. Hossain was a counsel to the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, the Cayman Islands, Fiji and the Solomon Islands.