A/HRC/19/63 (f) Support and care of children and families 122. All children should undergo an assessment to determine their need for immediate and/or long-term medical and psycho-social care and treatment. Appropriate care should be multi-disciplinary and take into account the various types of short-, medium- and long-term care and assistance that child victims require for their full recovery and reintegration. 123. Registration and recording systems should enable the collection of information on potential or actual exploitation and perpetrators, and provide for monitoring and follow-up on individual cases. (g) Short-term placement of children 124. Family- or community-based interim care should be prioritized. Institutional or residential care should be used only as a short-term measure where other alternatives are not available; however, it should not be excluded if it is determined to be in the best interest of the child under the circumstances. 125. In all cases, children should be informed of their options and be given the opportunity to express their opinions and have them taken into consideration. (h) Family tracing and reunification 126. Early identification and intervention is essential to increasing the chances for reunification. Priority should be given to locating the families of unaccompanied and very young children. 127. Tracing activities should be based on a consistent, centralized approach with standardized forms and mutually compatible systems that can facilitate cooperation, information-sharing and reduce the possibility of duplication. (i) National and international adoption 128. National or international adoption should not be permitted until a determination has been made by the State or appropriate authorities regarding the legal eligibility, psychological, medical and social suitability of the child to be adopted. 129. In adoption processes, priority should be given to relatives or to individuals within the child’s community or culture. International adoption should only be undertaken as a last resort and in compliance with the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption. Consideration should be given to a ban on removal of unaccompanied and separated children without explicit Government permission, except when undertaken for emergency medical treatment. 130. Steps should be taken to trace and stop the flow of financial transactions related to the sale of children, and to train border guards and national police to detect and intercept attempts to remove children from the country without proper identification and documentation. (j) Ongoing monitoring, assessment and follow-up 131. States should develop a systematic and comprehensive monitoring and reporting mechanism to provide timely, objective, accurate and reliable information on violations against children. The operation of a child protection system in the context of a natural disaster should be monitored for at least two years following the disaster. 22