From 2005 to 2008, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law has been conducting a comprehensive project on human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The project's focus was to promote human rights as a central part of the dialogue in which the European Union and Iran have been engaged since 2002. This publication is one of the outputs of that project. It is designed as a practical guide and reference book for lawyers and other human rights defenders, and it describes the international legal framework of human rights. This account of the fundamental principles of treaty law and practice facilitates better understanding of the structure and functioning of the human rights system at the international level. Focus is then placed on selected individual human rights and on the issues encountered by vulnerable groups, on the basis of significance of the topics to both parties to the dialogue. In each section, analysis is accompanied by the relevant provisions of international human rights instruments and case law. The book concludes with a list of bibliographical sources suggested for further reading.