Indicators: - Does the law provide for an identification mechanism for unaccompanied children? Yes No Does the law provide for the appointment of a representative to all unaccompanied children? Yes No According to the law asylum applications lodged by unaccompanied children must always be examined by priority and according to the regular procedure. The Police officials conducting interviews with unaccompanied children and making recommendations for the decision on their application for international protection must have the necessary knowledge of the special needs of children and conduct the interview in a child-sensitive manner taking account, in particular, of the child's age in order to ensure that the child fully understands the questions and the process as such. In practice, unaccompanied children crossing the borders of Greece are systematically treated as irregular migrants and therefore detained, without any information on the reasons of their detention and 53 its possible length (see section below on detention). The Police Officers may use medical examinations to determine the age of unaccompanied children (it is not an obligation), even though no specific procedure for assessing the age is 54 established. Procedural guarantees related to the age assessment provided in the law include: - the obligation for the child to be properly informed in a language they understand about the medical examinations itself and its consequences, including refusal to undergo the tests; the obligation to receive the consent of the child or their guardians to carry out the examinations; the guarantee that a negative decision cannot be based solely on refusal to undergo the age assessment the benefit of the doubt, both pending the results and in case the results are not conclusive The fact that an unaccompanied child has refused to undergo such a medical examination shall not prevent the Determining Authority, namely the General Secretary of the Ministry of Public Order (regular procedure)/ the Territorially Competent Police Director/ the police Directors of the Aliens Directorate of Athens and Thessaloniki(accelerated procedure) from taking a decision on the asylum application. In practice, the Greek Council for Refugees notes that “despite the provision, responsible services, 55 procedures or even the types of appropriate exams are yet to be designated” and in reality most children whose age is disputed do not go through an age assessment. Some children even claim to be adults in order to be released faster from detention. This leads to many children being treated like 56 adults, either because they declare so or because the police register them as such. It has been reported that younger children are usually officially registered to be a couple of years older than what they claim, while teenagers are likely to be registered as adults. When there is one, the determination of the age is made by the doctors who work in the detention centres with cooperation of NGOs and after an interview with specialised police staff, where possible. 53 54 55 56 Greek Council for Refugees, Submission to the General Discussion (DGD) on the Rights of Migrant Children 28th September 2012 : Immigration Detention of Children. Greek Council for Refugees, opus cite. Greek Council for Refugees, opus cite. UNHCR, France Terre d'Asile, Save the Children and PRAKSIS, Protection Children on the Move:Addressing protection needs through reception, counselling and referral and enhancing cooperation in Greece, Italy and France, July 2012. 34