Minimum Protection Standards to Relocate Unaccompanied Children from Greece to other EU Countries

Highlights

As of February 29, there are 5,463 unaccompanied children in Greece who remain in urgent need of durable solutions, including expedited registration, family reunification and relocation. Over recent weeks, countries in the EU have pledged their support to address the crisis facing asylum-seekers and refugees, particularly unaccompanied children, in Greece through expedited relocation. 

Because of the volume of cases and urgent needs, it is critical to establish standards based upon which children would be identified and prioritized for relocation. These standards must be firmly rooted within international child rights legal frameworks, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the 1951 Refugee Convention which lays out the considerations under which international protection needs would be established.