CRC/C/15/Add.119 page 6 environment, the Committee nevertheless recommends that the State party formulate and implement a national policy of deinstitutionalization of children. The Committee recommends that the State party increase and promote the use of alternatives to institutionalization, such as community-based programmes to assist parents and foster care. In the event of the closure of institutions, consideration needs to be given to the planning and provision of substitute services for children who could be displaced by such closures. The Committee recommends further training of personnel in institutions. The Committee recommends that regular periodic review of placement be instituted and that mechanisms be established to evaluate and monitor the conditions in these institutions. Adoption (art. 21) 30. The Committee is concerned about the absence of national standards and statistics on foster care and adoption. The Committee is concerned that, with the current informal system of foster care, there is no established mechanism to review, monitor and follow up placement of children. Similarly in relation to adoption, the Committee is concerned about vague adoption procedures and the absence of mechanisms to review, monitor and follow up adoptions. 31. Noting that the State party is considering draft codes of practice in relation to national and intercountry adoption, the Committee encourages the State party to establish a comprehensive national policy and guidelines governing foster care and adoption, and to establish a central monitoring mechanism in this regard. The Committee recommends that the State party accede to the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Inter-Country Adoption. Violence/abuse/neglect/maltreatment (art. 19) 32. The Committee reiterates the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (A/52/38/Rev.1) and the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/79/Add.100) that the State party has failed to acknowledge and address the matter of domestic violence. Notwithstanding protection under the Rights of the Child Act, the Committee expresses its concern at the ill-treatment of children, including sexual abuse, not only in schools and institutions, but also within the family. Limited access to complaints mechanisms and the insufficiency of rehabilitation measures for such children are also matters of concern to the Committee. 33. In the light of, inter alia, articles 19 and 39 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party ensure that all forms of physical and mental violence, including corporal punishment and sexual abuse against children in the family, schools and care institutions are prohibited. Programmes for the rehabilitation and reintegration of abused children need to be strengthened and adequate procedures and mechanisms established to receive complaints, monitor, investigate and prosecute instances of ill-treatment. The Committee recommends that the State party launch awareness-raising campaigns on the ill-treatment of children and its negative consequences. The Committee recommends that the State party promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment, especially in the home and schools. The Committee