Geneva  - A United Nations special expert on human rights will visit Zimbabwe later this month at the invitation of Harare, it was announced Friday, in the first such trip of its kind.

"It is the first time ever that the Zimbabwean authorities have extended such an invitation to a Human Rights Council independent expert," a UN statement said.

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, was to travel to Harare on October 28 and stay until November 4.

He was planning to meet with non governmental groups and Zimbabwean officials.

Based on the visit, Nowak is expected to compile and present a report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The announcement came as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said his party would boycott the country's unity government, accusing President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party of failing to keep its side of an historic power-sharing agreement.

It was unclear if the political changes would affect the visit of the UN rights expert.(dpa)