A/HRC/4/31 page 16 Penal Code do not have any specific legislation on the issue of the sale of children’s organs, but articles 11 to 13 of the Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents encompass this issue. On the other hand, several federal states have integrated in their respective penal codes specific stipulation on the subject. The District Federal State has developed article 172 in its Penal Code and a similar understanding can be found in article 369 of the Penal Code of the State of Durango. 61. In federal countries such as Mexico and Canada, each level of Government has adopted legislations on that matter. Canada for instance, while providing regulations on the matter in the Criminal Code, strictly regulates organ transplantation/donation at the provincial/territorial level. In Quebec, the Civil Code provides specific articles in its chapter 64 on the issue and in British Columbia, this is in the Human Tissue Gift Act adopted in 2000. Both laws prohibit the sale, purchase and dealing in, directly or indirectly, any tissue or body parts. Moreover, the Criminal Code of Canada does not have a specific provision addressing the illegal removal of human organs and tissues but any general Criminal Code offences can be invoked for any removal that does not comply with the relevant legislation. Finally, the question of consent is dealt with in provincial legislation. In general, valid consent cannot be given directly by persons who are under age or who lack the necessary mental capacity, and the consent on behalf of such persons is limited to cases where there are valid therapeutic reasons. 62. The last question raised by the questionnaire dealt with the different public institutions in charge of preventing, countering and eliminating the sale of children’s organs, their role and activities. A number of countries, such as Estonia, Mauritius, Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, Japan, Venezuela, Malta, Sweden, Canada, Philippines, and Chile conferred responsibility for the issue of organ trafficking to the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health (and Social Welfare) and the police force. In Mauritius, the Ministry of Women and Child’s Rights is also responsible in tackling the question of trafficking of women’s and child’s organs. 63. Several States have elaborated other public institutions specifically related to the issue. Croatia established in 2002 the National Committee for the Suppression of Trafficking in Persons, composed of representatives of State administrative bodies involved in the prevention of trafficking of persons, as well as representatives of legislative and judicial bodies and NGOs. Within this framework, a special Working Group for the Prevention of Trafficking in Children prepared the National Plan for the Suppression of Trafficking in Children for the period from October 2005 to December 2007. In Sweden, a similar inter-ministerial Working Group was set up in charge of compiling of knowledge about trafficking in human beings for the purpose of removal of organs and on that basis will propose a national action plan. The working group will present its results by the end of 2007. 64. In the Philippines, several public institutions are in charge in countering the sale of children’s organs. The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is the designated lead government medical centre for organ transplantation in the Philippines. The Philippines Centre for Transnational Crime (PCTC) is the special police institution that pursues trafficking cases beyond the Philippines borders. The Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) is the multi-agency body created mainly mandated to coordinate, monitor and oversee the implementation of the same law.