GREECE
LEGAL AND POLICY CONTEXT
The national system dealing with the protection of unaccompanied and separated children in Greece – from identification and registration to referral and protective services – has been overwhelmed since the numbers of arrivals increased significantly in 2015, with those arriving by sea exceeding 1.5 million. This increase has resulted in delays in processing and assessing cases and a shortage of adequate facilities to accommodate unaccompanied and separated children, with many documented cases of children in de facto detention and many unaccompanied and separated children remaining unregistered.
As of September 2017, 62,206 refugees and asylum seekers are estimated to be living on mainland Greece. Between 1 January 2016 and 30 September 2017, 8,987 cases of unaccompanied and separated children were registered with Greece’ s National Centre for Social Solidarity( EKKA). In September 2017, 1,126 unaccompanied and separated children were living in accommodation facilities hosting exclusively unaccompanied and separated children and 1,652 were waiting for placements. Of those on waiting lists, 228 children were living in‘ Reception and Identification Centres’ 1, more than 370 were in temporary facilities or‘ safe zones’ for unaccompanied children in camps, and 106 children were in‘ protective custody’ – de facto detention – in police stations, pending suitable placements 2.
There are a number of pre-existing shortfalls in the national child protection system for unaccompanied and separated children. These include the absence of a best interest determination procedure, a weak guardianship system, a poor system for monitoring accommodation and care facilities for children, and a fragmented legal framework for foster care. The problematics of each have been exacerbated by the current situation with increased numbers of migrants and refugees arriving in the country.
The Greek state is legally obliged to provide free compulsory education for all children between the ages of five and 15, regardless of migration status. However, the overburdened national system has failed to ensure access and to enrol all newly arrived children. As of 2016, children living in private accommodation or outside‘ Reception and Identification Centres( RICs) and camps can be enrolled at regular schools, whilst those living in camps or reception centres should attend integration classes offered by the Ministry of Education inside these facilities. Nevertheless, access to education remains a challenge, as many children are refused enrolment due to insufficient documentation, lack of places in preparatory(‘ reception’) classes or capacity issues. At the time of writing 3 no precise figures were available on how many refugee and migrant children were enrolled in regular schools. Accessing education is particularly difficult for asylum-seeking children
1 _‘ Reception and Identification Centres’( RIC) are Formerly First Reception Centre, closed centre in border areas where entrants are identified and referred to asylum or return proceedings. Six such centres exist in Fylakio, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. Hotspots are defined in the Regulation establishing the European Border and Coast Guard of 13 September 2016 as“ an area in which the host Member State, the Commission, relevant union agencies and participating Member State cooperate with the aim of managing an existing or potential disproportionate migratory challenge characterised by a significant increase in the number of migrants arriving at the external border”. In Greece, hotspots are established in the Reception and Identification Centres of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. See“ Country Report Greece”, Asylum Information Database( AIDA), 2016 update, March 2017, http:// www. asylumineurope. org / reports / country / greece;“ The Implementation of the Hotspots in Italy and Greece”, ECRE, December 2016, https:// www. ecre. org / wp-content / uploads / 2016 / 12 / HOTSPOTS-Report-5.12.2016.. pdf.
2 _“ Situation Update: Unaccompanied Children( UAC) in Greece”, EKKA, 15 September 2017, https:// data2. unhcr. org / en / documents / download / 60150.
3 _ October 2017.
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