A/HRC/22/65 should also end the bidding wars that take place in adoption in Haiti. Moreover, the fact that a list of children for adoption has been prepared by a central authority should mean an end to the practice whereby parents who have been misled by children’s homes or who simply consider themselves too poor to raise their own children give up their children for intercountry adoption. The new law should result in adoption being used only as a last resort and in order to protect a child. 68. Since March 2012, several children’s organizations18 have noted a fresh surge in the number of “restavek” (child domestic workers) who leave the place where they are living to go and live on the street, or who risk being subjected to violence, exploitation or other forms of abuse. In recent years, there appears to have been a marked shift in terms of the kinds of families that receive “restavek”. In the past, host families were relatively well off; now they tend to be poorer families in which the children are at greater risk. 69. The pattern of geographical distribution also appears to have changed: traditionally, children from rural areas were sent to major cities (Port-au-Prince or Cap-Haïtien). Now, however, an increasing number are being sent to small provincial towns. The independent expert would like to see a proper study of these changes carried out in order to identify better ways of combating the phenomenon. He encourages the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour to address this issue in the labour code that is being revised. 70. According to several organizations that work at the border with the Dominican Republic,19 crossborder trafficking of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour is still being carried out, particularly in the Malpasse region. The independent expert recommends that steps be taken to tighten up the laws and procedures, and that IBESR and the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI, Dominican Republic) formalize the relationships that they have already established with a view to the adoption of a bilateral framework for combating this phenomenon. 71. The Government submitted a bill to Parliament on combating human trafficking, particularly trafficking of women and children, in response to the requirements of the Palermo Protocol, which Haiti has ratified. If the bill were to become law, it would make child trafficking a criminal offence; the police often have to release suspected traffickers because there is no such offence in the Penal Code. Hitherto, the police have had to treat trafficking as abduction, which is often difficult to prove when the biological parents have voluntarily handed the child over to the accused. The independent expert recommends that these laws be published expeditiously in the Moniteur (the official gazette of the Republic of Haiti) and widely disseminated throughout the country. 72. The absence of a governmental strategy on juvenile justice weakens the impact of the round table set up to discuss the matter. The independent expert recommends that a proper children’s code be established that is broader than a simple law and that focuses on vulnerable children. 73. Although the juvenile courts in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien do work, hearings are still held on an irregular basis. Some 82 per cent of children in prison are being held in pretrial detention, but the lack of rapid processing is not justified by the total number of children in conflict with the law (fewer than 250). While it is recommended that all juvenile cases be dealt with expeditiously, the way that the chief justice of the court of first instance distributes cases does not appear to give priority to children. Moreover, some juvenile judges have a large workload and only carry out this function as a secondary activity. The 18 19 GE.13-10672 Interviews with UNICEF and World Vision Canada. World Vision Canada, Groupe d’Appui aux Rapatries et Refugies (Returnee and Refugee Support Group) (GARR). 13