Adoptive parents should not take Haitian children out of the country unless their papers have been signed by both the Haitian premier and the United Nations, UN officials said Saturday.

Children have gone missing from hospitals in Haiti since the devastating earthquake struck, raising fears of trafficking for adoption abroad.
 

"I can confirm that cases of trafficking and children disappearing are taking place," Caroline van der Veeken, Press Officer at UNICEF in The Netherlands, told RNW. “The Haitian government has been investigating the situation, and a moratorium by the Minister of Information has put a halt on all adoptions from Haiti”, says Van der Veeken.
 

Since Sunday, no adoptions will take place from Haiti, as nobody knows for certain how many children are missing or orphaned. UNICEF is pulling information and resources to protect these children: “When children are found unaccompanied, they are placed in a ‘centre for unaccompanied children’. In these centres they are properly monitored”.

Fears of human trafficking
Child protection groups fear that the Haitian state's effective collapse could lead to an increase in human trafficking or in children suffering from losing all contact with Haitian culture and their surviving relatives.
 

Several countries have speeded adoption procedures since the quake. Dozens of Haitian children are due to begin new lives in Canada this weekend, and 33 have already arrived in France.
 

"All children leaving the country should have adoption papers signed by the prime minister," Jacques Boyer, deputy country director for UNICEF, told reporters at his headquarters in Port au Prince. The adoptions should also be approved by his United Nations office, he added.
 

Despite this, there is pressure from prospective parents for more adoptions. Around 300 people protested Saturday in front of the French foreign ministry in Paris to demand that procedures be speeded still further.

Call for vigilance
“UNICEF has been calling for vigilance in a chaotic situation. It is very difficult to ensure that children are taken care of. Of course, we are not happy for parents in the Netherlands and everywhere else who are waiting to adopt”, says Van der Veeken.
 

Prior to the earthquake, UNICEF estimated 350,000 orphans living in Haiti. Figures since the earthquake are yet unknown.