UNITED NATIONS -- The chief United Nations investigator on slavery signalled Wednesday that Haiti -- the only nation born of a slave revolt -- has entrenched child enslavement through its long-denounced "restavek" system.

The finding by Gulnara Shahinian after she toured the Caribbean nation raises pressure on Canada and other major aid donors to the country to focus more on eliminating the blight.

Named for the Haitian francophone Creole term meaning "stay with," the system is supposed give parents unable to care for their children an opportunity to send them to more affluent relatives or strangers in urban areas. There, the children would receive food, shelter and education in exchange for "light" housework.