Across Greece, unaccompanied and separated[1] children (“unaccompanied children”) continue to face unsafe living conditions, unlawful detention, criminalisation and serious barriers to protection.
Despite being recognised under international, EU and Greek law as particularly vulnerable, many children arriving in the country without their legal guardian are still treated primarily through a migration-control lens rather than within a child protection framework. Unaccompanied children are frequently held in so-called “safe areas” within Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs) and Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) under conditions that amount to detention. As an organisation with a continuous presence on the islands of Kos and Leros, we have documented these practices in the CCACs operating there. Through our work in the Attica region, we have also observed similar conditions at the Malakasa RIC, one of the largest and most populated centres in the country.
These facilities are not child-appropriate environments, and delays and systemic shortcomings on the part of the authorities frequently prevent unaccompanied children from being transferred promptly to suitable accommodation. As a result, children are often confined for prolonged periods in the camps, without adequate access to education, healthcare, psychosocial support or legal assistance, while living in degrading and dilapidated conditions where incidents of violence regularly occur.
At the same time, unaccompanied children continue to face significant obstacles in accessing family reunification procedures, while others are wrongfully accused and prosecuted as smugglers within a broader context of migration criminalisation. Serious concerns also persist regarding age assessment procedures, which often fail to comply with international standards and may expose children to inappropriate treatment and the denial of safeguards to which they are entitled as minors.
Τhese risks are further exacerbated by the implementation of the new Common European Asylum System (CEAS), applying across the EU since June 2026. The reform introduces more extensive screening procedures, mandatory border procedures under detention-like conditions, and an increased reliance on externalised protection mechanisms. These developments raise serious concerns regarding the rights of children.
[1] Greek law distinguishes between unaccompanied minors and children accompanied by an adult who is not their legal guardian (separated children). In this page, we use the term “unaccompanied children” to refer to both categories.
