The EU-Iran human rights dialogue

This Briefing Paper examines the EU-Iran human rights dialogue from 2002 to 2004. It does not take into consideration the broader framework of EU-Iran relations. Furthermore, the briefing paper is based on the experience of the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) at the Roundtable sessions. It does not include the confidential intergovernmental part of the dialogue.

The Paper is divided into four main sections which aim to describe the dialogue process and to submit recommendations for future implementation of the dialogue approach. The first section gives a brief introduction to the historical background for initiating the dialogue with Iran. The second section examines the dialogue itself with regard to its format, participants, methodology, content and timescale. The third section provides a brief overview of the positive and negative results of the dialogue in relation to the set EU benchmarks and, finally, the fourth section consists of the recommendations put forward by the Danish Institute for Human Rights for future human rights dialogues.

Website: The Danish Institute for Human Rigths (DIHR) http://www.humanrights.dk/

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