H UMA N R I G H TS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue, 34 th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 www.hrw.org Left to Survive Systematic Failure to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Greece Greece, an entrance gate to the European Union, is failing to protect more than 1,000 unaccompanied children who have entered its territory in 2008, many from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Somalia. Despite being a member of the European Union and a party to key human rights treaties, Greece doesn’t have an effective child protection system for these children with the result that the majority find themselves in a daily struggle for survival. The chances of being recognized as a refugee in Greece are close to zero and a majority of unaccompanied children fail to ask for asylum. Those who do are typically given short and superficial asylum interviews, with no guardian or lawyer to represent them. Children who do not apply for asylum lack regular status, are liable to be detained multiple times, and at risk of deportation. In order to survive, children routinely perform exploitative and hazardous work, as they struggle to pay for accommodation that is often overcrowded, unhygienic and unsafe. Some end up sleeping in parks or improvised shacks. Unaccompanied girls in particular are at high risk of falling into the hands of trafficking networks. Unaccompanied children are also subject to violence at the hands of Greek police, coast guard officials and port police during arrest or when trying to enter the country. Some children report health problems stemming from such ill-treatment. Greece must urgently prioritize the protection of unaccompanied children, and the European Union should no longer ignore Greece’s failure to ensure these children’s well-being. The EU should press Greece to take immediate action and EU member states should suspend transferring unaccompanied children back to Greece. An unaccompanied Afghan boy sleeps on a mattress in a camp in Patras, Greece, where more than 200 unaccompanied migrant children live without any state assistance. © 2008 Juma Khan Karimi H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H