As of December 2020, there were 41,400 refugee and asylum-seeker children in Greece, representing 34% of the total population, including 4,027 unaccompanied children. Despite the increase in unaccompanied children placements in supported independent living (SIL), IOM facilities and safe zones (indicator up from 25% to 34%), the capacity in age-appropriate accommodation remains insufficient. Currently almost 60% of unaccompanied children are deprived of long-term accommodation, with at least 900 unaccompanied children homeless or in precarious conditions.
Under the voluntary relocation scheme for unaccompanied children, launched by the Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUAM) in June 2020, UNHCR carried out 543 best interests assessments, and coordinated the best interests assessments process for the initial ad hoc relocations and for the homeless unaccompanied children. Since the Law 4554/2018 on guardianship was not implemented in 2020, UNHCR also deployed 35 authorized representatives for minors countrywide through METAdrasi to safeguard the best interest of 1,055 unaccompanied children during the relocation exercise and provided accompaniment services.
For the national referral mechanism of unaccompanied children, UNHCR continued supporting the deployment of experts to EKKA, who, due to changes made to government competencies, were transferred to the SSPUAM. Child protection training was provided to 924 partner and government staff. In alternative care, UNHCR supported 30 unaccompanied children in SIL until its transition to the State in July 2020 and another 40 unaccompanied children in foster care.
In response to the long-standing issue of homeless children in Greece, in 2020 UNHCR commissioned research on the issue (profiles, causes and solutions) to inform advocacy and programming. In parallel, UNHCR also supported 1,516 unaccompanied children living as homeless or in precarious conditions in Athens and Thessaloniki through national partners, offering holistic case management services. Based on the research findings, UNHCR advocated for the issuance of the Law 4760/2020 providing that unaccompanied children are not subjected to protective custody on the sole ground that they are deprived of safe accommodation. To ensure adherence to the law at the operational level, UNHCR and the SSPUAM are working on the establishment in 2021 of a national tracing and protection mechanism for unaccompanied children living in precarious conditions, as an alternative to protective custody.
According to the Hellenic Police, 1,892 unaccompanied children were reported missing in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. In May 2020 UNHCR and Smile of the Child issued a guidance note on reporting refugee and migrant children missing, endorsed by the vice Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court.
Despite the September 2020 transfer of 750 unaccompanied children and youth from RICs to temporary care arrangements on the mainland, 3,700 children in families and 126 unaccompanied and separated children remain in the island and Evros reception facilities in poor conditions. In order to alleviate the situation, UNHCR invested in case management support, benefiting 1,182 children in 2020 on Lesvos, Chios and Samos. UNHCR also facilitated safe accompaniment of 3,106 unaccompanied children in precarious conditions, RICs and detention facilities, to appropriate care arrangements.
5,669 children hosted in ESTIA accommodation (under UNHCR partners) enrolled for the school year 2019-2020 and 5,217 in the school year 2020-2021. UNHCR supported 102 schools with ICT equipment and contributed to a Ministry of Education training event for 213 high level education experts. To address the gaps in education on the Aegean islands where only 3% of asylum-seekers have access to formal education, UNHCR provided non-formal education to 2,648 school-aged children in all island RICs, including new students reached through distance learning.