A Network of Care for Unaccompanied Minors in Greece

Nikos Alexiou is a member of the UNICEF Child Protection Team in Greece, working as a Child Protection Expert on Guardianship seconded to the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum of the Hellenic Republic. He is supporting the development and the implementation of the Monitoring & Evaluation Framework of the National Guardianship System for unaccompanied children.

First things first! What is an unaccompanied minor?

According to European and national law, a third country national or stateless child who arrives in Greece alone, without being accompanied by a person exercising his/her parental responsibility or custody or by an adult-relative exercising his/her effective care. In the latter case, the child is called separated (as she/he is not with parents but still with relatives). Moreover, according to national law, children who are removed from the family environment on child protection grounds, while in Greece, are considered unaccompanied.

How many unaccompanied children are there in Greece?

As of early July 2024, we have more than 2.000 unaccompanied & separated children across Greece. 

Where do they stay?

The children initially stay at the designated Registration & Identification Centres of the country, and then specific care arrangements are made according to the age and family status of the child. They may be placed in long-term accommodation facilities for unaccompanied children, i.e. the Accommodation Centres and Supervised apartments for semi-independent living (SIL) or in foster care. If at any point they are identified as living in precarious conditions, they are placed in emergency accommodation facilities for unaccompanied children and long-term care arrangements are made.

What is the competent authority for the protection of unaccompanied children in Greece?

The General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection. It was established within the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (MoMA) in June 2023, as a successor to the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Children, initially established in February 2020.

It designs and develops an effective protection framework for all vulnerable groups of the refugee and migrant population in the country, and is concerned with the protection of unaccompanied children via:

a. the implementation of a National Strategy for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors in Greece

b. the provision of housing and the supervision of the operation of accommodation facilities for unaccompanied children,

c. the guardianship, the institutional protection of their rights and the safeguarding of their best interests, and the

d. the enhancement of their social integration and well-being promotion.

So, what is Guardianship exactly?

The institution that aims to protect the best interests and the rights of the unaccompanied child by establishing a quasi-family relationship that replaces the parental responsibility. The natural person authorized to act as guardian is a Guardianship Mandated Person (GMP), but let’s just use the term guardian in the context of this exchange! The law regulating the guardianship of unaccompanied children (law 4960/2022) is in force since 01.01.2024, regulating for the first time in Greece a National Guardianship System! 

Is there a national project for Guardianship?

Yes, also for the first time there is a National Guardianship Project to ensure a uniform implementation of the legal framework! Specifically, this is an EU co-funded project for Guardianship under the Greek National Programme of the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027. 

The implementation of the project started on 1st of January 2024, with two Greek NGOs, METAdrasi and Praksis, as the implementing actors.

Currently, 1.770 children are supported by 161 guardians in 25 locations in Greece (this number translates to more than 80% of UAMs in our country). Overall, from the start of the year until now, more than 2.485 children have received guardianship services. The target is to support through this nationwide Project all the unaccompanied and separated children in Greece soon.

What exactly does a Guardian do?

The role of the guardian is principal and determinant! The functions of guardianship according to national law are:

a) Custody and care of an unaccompanied child;

b) Legal representation of an unaccompanied child in all matters and procedures, and 

c) Assistance regarding property matters.

• All in all, guardians are there to represent them, to defend their rights, to facilitate their participation and safeguard their overall well-being and best interest. They assist in determining a long term and sustainable solution for the children and connect them with necessary services.

Under this mandate, they act as focal points of the child and at the same time they collaborate with other shareholders or actors that are involved in the child’s care, such as the staff of the Accommodation Facilities, or in general his or her case, such the migration and asylum services, as everyone involved has the best interest of the minor as their primary consideration.

More specifically, the guardian supports the minor in procedures and affairs such as:

Application for international protection and for granting legal status. 

• Family reunification.
• School registration and attendance 
• Health services, from medical examination to hospitalization.
• Mental health services.
• Support for victims of violence, exploitation, or discrimination.
• Judicial procedures. 

How exactly does UNICEF provide its technical support?

In national law, specific checks and balances are foreseen to ensure the quality of the guardianship services provision and compliance of guardians with the law and standards. The Institutional Protection Unit of the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection of MoMA is the competent authority for guardianship of unaccompanied children and itself is the “guardian” of the implementation of the Child Protection Framework in cooperation with prosecutorial authorities. 

UNICEF supported the General Secretariat in the further development of the Complaints Mechanism in the context of guardianship, and the Monitoring & Evaluation Framework of the guardianship Project, and currently supports their implementation. The project of support itself builds upon Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) concerning the protection of minors from all forms of violence. Special consideration has been taken by design to make the procedures accessible and adaptable to the needs and capacities of children. In more detail:

Complaints Mechanism

Every aspect of the Complaints mechanism is built having in mind the following principles:

• Accessibility, so that every child irrespective of their legal status, educational level or accessibility needs can have their voice heard. The mechanism provides multiple channels for submitting complaints, including in-person, online, and via telephone, to accommodate different preferences and needs.
• Responsiveness, so that there is a quick response in both the initial receipt of the complaint as well as on its resolution. 
• Information to the child, with clear, child-friendly and flexible provisions. 
• Privacy and confidentiality, with an emphasis on the access to a direct, easy, simple to use and, if preferred by the child, to an anonymous procedure.

Monitoring & Evaluation Framework

This is as much about tools, indicators, data and infographics as it is about giving an opportunity to all the stakeholders, and more importantly the children themselves, to provide us with feedback about the quality of services provided by the Guardians in the framework of the project.

Objectives, indicators and data are very important to collect accurate information and to interpret findings. This is crucial in identifying needs and challenges, as well as potential solutions. Data collection is crucial for paving the way to improvement. 

The provision of feedback from the children, the collaborating partners (guardians, guardians’ Coordinators of METAdrasi & Praksis), stakeholders such as the staff of the Accommodation Facilities, the Public Prosecutors’ Offices, the Asylum Service and the Reception and Identification Service across Greece will give insight to:

• the General Secretariat about the needs in the field based on availability of other services necessary to unaccompanied children, of procedures in place, means of collaborations among the various actors, etc. and in this way inform a comprehensive project design, as well as suggest the strengthening of other areas of children’s lives, and
• To shape an environment of accountability, transparency and trust among all actors involved in the protection and management of unaccompanied children.