Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, starts on Sunday 7 October a 5-day high-level official visit to Armenia to assess the human rights situation in the country, said the press office of the CoE Yerevan office.

At the center of Mr Hammarberg's agenda there will be a broad range of human rights issues, including the functioning of the judiciary, conditions of detention, prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, minorities' rights, conscientious objectors, rights of refugees, social and economic rights. The visit will also focus on trafficking in human beings and vulnerable groups. Commissioner Hammarberg will visit various police stations, detention centers, shelters and psychiatric institutions in Yerevan and Gyumri.

During the visit, the Commissioner will hold meetings with the highest authorities of the State, including the President, Robert Kocharian, the Prime Minister, Serge Sargsyan and the Chairman of the Parliament, Tigran Torosian. He will also meet parliamentarians, the Presidents of the Constitutional Court and the Cassation Court, the Ombudsman, local authorities, the Head of the Armenian Church, as well as representatives of the civil society.