A/HRC/31/77 per day; the representation of women in the Parliament, which stands at only 4 per cent; and the lack of measures to combat deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. 30. With respect to inequality in particular, the human development index for Haiti rose from 0.471 in 2013 to 0.483 in 2014, leaving it in 163rd place among the 188 countries and territories surveyed.6 When this index is adjusted for the inequalities besetting the poorest of the poor, who are deprived of health, education and dignity, it drops to 0.296 (which is a slight improvement over 2013, when it stood at 0.285).7 31. A further disparity appears in the gender inequality index. In 2014, Haiti had a gender inequality index rating of 0.603, which was higher than the 0.599 recorded in 2013. That rating situated the country in 138th place in 2014, as compared with 132nd place in 2013.8 There has been a steady decline in this indicator, as in 2012 the rating was 0.592 and the country was in 127th place.9 32. The Independent Expert calls on the authorities to ensure that the new government takes into account, as a matter of priority in its development plan, the need to eliminate the deep social inequality existing in Haiti. To that end, it should take steps geared to significantly improve income levels for workers, health and education for the poorest of the poor, reproductive health for women, and women’s empowerment and representation in the Parliament, as well as other issues, within a reasonable period of time, and in general ensure decent living conditions for all. B. Liberty, deprivation of liberty and detention conditions (a) Priority action to address prolonged pretrial detention 33. Conditions in places of detention continue to deteriorate as the result of an expanding prison population and spaces that are both too small and unsanitary. The main contributing factor to this situation is the country’s practice of prolonged pretrial detention. This ongoing violation of human rights must be eliminated as soon as possible: the obligation enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 9.3) should not be allowed to go overlooked. 34. On average, persons being held in pretrial detention account for more than 70 per cent of the prison population. The situation is particularly serious at the Reintegration Centre for Minors in Conflict with the Law (CERMICOL), where that figure is 90 per cent; at the women’s prison in Pétion-Ville (88 per cent); and at the national penitentiary (87 per cent).10 It is therefore minors and women who are mostly held in pretrial detention, which is seldom warranted. 35. During his previous mission in February 2015, the Independent Expert visited CERMICOL in Port-au-Prince. Initially built to accommodate a maximum of 70 persons, it was housing over double that amount: 156 minors, only 10 of whom had actually been sentenced. Remand and sentenced inmates were not separated. Two of the children that the Independent Expert met with had been admitted to the detention centre at 12 years of age, which is against the law. 6 7 8 9 10 GE.16-01946 See www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/HDR%202015/ HumanDevelopmentReport_EN.pdf (table 1, p. 210, and table 2, p. 214). http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI. Ibid. A/HRC/28/82, para. 38. Data from the MINUSTAH Corrections Unit regarding the prison population at 19 November 2015. 7