As of December 2019, 42,400 refugee and migrant children including 5,301 unaccompanied or separated children (UASC) were estimated to be in Greece, making up 38% of UNHCR’s total population of concern.
Since June 2019, more than 300 UASC arrived every month on the Greek islands in Aegean Sea, and by the end of the year, almost 3,000 unaccompanied children were out of appropriate care arrangements. In comparison to 2018, the situation for UASC has deteriorated and worsened as the numbers have increased dramatically while appropriate care arrangement placements only increased by 400 (1,064 in 2018, compared to 1,488 in 2019). The number of UASC in the reception and information centres (RICs) reached unprecedented levels (1,908 in December 2019 compared to 740 in December 2018). Due to long RIC administrative procedures and the lack of appropriate reception facilities, unaccompanied children were forced to reside up to 10 months on the overcrowded islands and the number of unaccompanied children in protective custody more than doubled (195 by the end of the year, compared to 86 in 2018).
By the end of 2019 in mainland Greece, 1,050 unaccompanied children were reported as homeless or living in informal settings/unknown locations, at high risk of exploitation and abuse. This brought the percentage of identified children with specific needs who were assisted to below 2018 rates.
UNHCR’s transition guardianship programme assigned authorised representatives for minors, acting as guardians in the best interest of 2,324 unaccompanied minors. However, the programme was discontinued after it was handed over to the Government at the end of 2019, leading to limited access of unaccompanied children to asylum, health and family reunion procedures.
Staff reinforcement was provided to the National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA) for national unaccompanied children referrals (4 staff), as well as technical guidance on best interest procedures for the implementation of the Dubs relocation scheme for unaccompanied children in Greece to the United Kingdom, which was completed in July 2019. In total, UNHCR submitted 119 unaccompanied children to the United Kingdom Home Office for relocation.
Capacity development on best interest procedures and child protection was provided to state authorities and NGOs, including the Dublin Unit, the Greek Asylum Service and the Hellenic Police (322 staff members).
In order to alleviate the situation for children on the islands, UNHCR invested in case management for 1,093 unaccompanied children in the RICs through national partners. Considering that less than 3% of the 9,880 school-aged children on the islands had access to formal education, UNHCR supported non-formal education activities for a total of 3,449 children, as well as formal education, enrolments in classes and provided supplies to schools. The sharp increase of children, and the insufficient upscale of recreational and non-formal education activities also brought the percentage of children with safe access to community spaces for socializing, play, learning below 2018 levels by year end.
In parallel, UNHCR facilitated the transfers of 3,359 unaccompanied children to care arrangements and invested in alternative care solutions by offering 33 supported independent living and 23 foster care placements. In the urban settings of Athens and Thessaloniki, the scaling up of street-work interventions linked to case management services and recreational activities supported more than 4,750 children and adolescents at risk. 621 children identified in detention facilities received psychosocial support services and had access to recreational activities.
A study on the profiling of homeless unaccompanied children was commissioned to inform UNHCR’s programming in 2020 for tailored interventions targeting this highly vulnerable group, both at the policy and operational level. Unfortunately, due to limited funding, the planned community-based child protection workforce, as well as the 18+ projects were not implemented, and cash assistance for unaccompanied children in the RICs was not provided.
Advocacy in 2019 focused on the situation of unaccompanied children in the RICs (including strategic litigation), homeless unaccompanied children, missing refugee and migrant children, as well as on building partnerships with EU Member States for responsibility-sharing of UASC protection. UNHCR continued chairing the Child Protection Working Group and enhanced cooperation with IOM and UNICEF to ensure that children’s needs were addressed.
2019