Freedom House American human rights organization calls on the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to raise the human rights and democracy issues as the cornerstone topic during her June 4-6 visit to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Civil.Ge reports.

“Encouraging and supporting democratically accountable systems in the Caucasus region is essential,” Freedom House president David J. Kramer said. “While we realize there is a range of policy interests to be discussed during the trip, Freedom House calls for a particular emphasis on the ongoing concerns about human rights and democracy throughout the region, especially in Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

In case of Armenia, Freedom House emphasizes that the country’s reform ambitions are hampered by the deep relationship between politics and business, which effectively prevents the advancement of greater accountability and transparency.

Regarding Georgia, it affords some but not all of the institutional safeguards and makes promise for more meaningful reform, if the right steps are taken.

As for Azerbaijan, the organization calls on the Secretary of State to touch upon issues regarding oppressions and arrests of political activists, as well as using force to break up antigovernment demonstrations and freedom of media.