A/HRC/22/65 independent expert recommends that juvenile judges be appointed where there are no juvenile courts so as to avert a situation where justices of the peace, who do not always understand juvenile justice procedures, continue to place children in detention for lesser, non-repeat offences. F. Office of the Ombudsperson 74. The Office of the Ombudsperson is now a well established institution in Haiti and the value of its work is recognized across the entire country. The independent expert thanks the international community and the international organizations that have allocated what are often large budgets to support and enhance the effectiveness of the Office’s work. He also welcomes the support provided by the International Organization of la Francophonie (OIF) jointly with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the preparation of an organic law to revise the terms of reference of the Office of the Ombudsperson in conformity with the Paris Principles. Florence Elie, the Ombudsperson, has the necessary skills, authority and experience to make this national human rights institution a haven for protection against abuses and infringements of human rights. 75. The financial and human resources provided and the establishment of regional bureaux to make the institution more accessible to the population, even if the Cap-Haïtien branch does not yet have any office premises, suggest that, over time, particularly in anticipation of the departure of MINUSTAH, Haitian women and men, wherever they may be in the country, will be able to turn to the Ombudsperson should they encounter cases of maladministration or flagrant violations of their fundamental human rights. 76. The independent expert recommends that the Office of the Ombudsperson approach the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to obtain formal recognition of its status as being in conformity with the Paris Principles.20 In time, the Office of the Ombudsperson must become the national human rights mechanism in Haiti, a mechanism for seeking redress against maladministration, the national mechanism for the prevention of torture mentioned above, and, perhaps, the national protection mechanism envisaged in article 33 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This would be all the more important if the Office were to be designated as a national protection mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture when Haiti ratifies it. IV. Economic and social rights and the humanitarian situation 77. In accordance with the statement of the President of the Human Rights Council,21 and to meet the growing demand in Haiti for the inclusion of economic and social rights in the rule of law machinery, the independent expert undertook a study which highlighted the importance of economic and social rights for ending the crisis in Haiti. This point is reaffirmed unambiguously in the Security Council resolution under which the MINUSTAH mandate was renewed.22 20 21 22 14 http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridocda.nsf/(Symbol)/A.RES.48.134.Fr?OpenDocument. A/HRC/PRST/19/2. S/2012/743. GE.13-10672

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