A/HRC/38/30 realization of human rights is also complicated by the impact of recurrent natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. While some areas, mostly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area — one of the most affected by the 2010 earthquake — have been rehabilitated, some 37,000 Haitians, including 15,000 children, remained internally displaced as at January 2018, mostly in camps located in the metropolitan area of the capital. In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew greatly affected the south-west of the country and temporarily displaced 175,000 people. Some of them continue to live in precarious conditions, with women and children being particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking. 6. As countries in the region have been adopting laws and policies restricting irregular migration, hundreds of thousands of Haitians and persons of Haitian descent living abroad risk being deported to Haiti, some of whom risk becoming stateless. The possibility of mass returns raises human rights concerns, particularly with regard to adequate housing and access to health and education. III. Institutional framework for the protection and promotion of human rights A. National human rights mechanisms 7. In 2012, the Government established the position of Minister Delegate for Human Rights, attached to the Office of the Prime Minister. This was the first time a human rights entity was part of the executive branch in Haiti. However, with the change of Government in December 2014, the post was discontinued. 8. On 13 May 2013, the then Prime Minister created by decree the Interministerial Committee on Human Rights, with the mandate of coordinating public policies in the field of human rights and developing a national human rights strategy, including specific measures to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights. 9. The Interministerial Committee was placed under the leadership of the Minister Delegate for Human Rights. It was initially composed of eight ministers: the Minister Delegate for Human Rights, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Social Affairs, the Minister of Women’s Affairs and Women’s Rights, the Minister of Public Health and the Minister of Education. 10. The Interministerial Committee has remained in place under the authority of the Prime Minister after the termination of the post of Minister Delegate for Human Rights, but with no entity to lead and coordinate its work. 2 Thus, its work has been essentially at the technical level for the last three years. Its members have the authority to implement the recommendations that fall under their ministries’ purviews. This means that only some specific human rights concerns are addressed, mostly in isolation, while the Interministerial Committee is unable to address cross-cutting, policy and strategic issues. A coordinating entity with the necessary mandate and decision-making authority remains critical if the Government is to effectively prepare and implement a comprehensive and strategic national human rights action plan. 11. At the same time, the Interministerial Committee remains responsible for ensuring that Haiti complies with its obligations to submit periodic reports to the human rights treaty bodies. Through the human rights component of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and the Mission for Justice Support, OHCHR has conducted activities aimed at building the capacity of the Interministerial Committee to draft such reports and to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations of the treaty bodies. For instance, in 2 4 On 2 May 2018, OHCHR was informed by the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva that the Ministry of Justice had ensured the coordination of the Interministerial Committee, following the termination of the post of Minister Delegate for Human Rights.