irregularly. Greece lacks solid arrangements at points of entry at the border to ensure that people seeking international protection can be identified. This is despite the provisions in the Greek Action Plan for the operation of Mobile Units (MUs) in areas where there are no first reception centres. 38 Interpretation, legal advice or other forms of assistance or procedural counselling are scarce at the border. Only a handful of structures are, periodically, in place which could provide such assistance, for 39 40 instance under an EU-funded project , or other NGO activities. At sea and land entry points, there is 41 no experienced staff available to respond to the needs of vulnerable persons such as unaccompanied children or traumatized individuals and as a result in most of the cases these persons are left helpless or do not receive the necessary attention, which discourages them from going on with the asylum procedure. Personal Interview Indicators: - Is a personal interview of the asylum seeker systematically conducted in practice in a border procedure? Yes No - If so, are interpreters available in practice, for interviews? Yes No - Are personal interviews ever conducted through video conferencing? Yes No The personal interview takes place at the borders according to the same rules as described under the regular procedure. However, the main problem in the procedure at the border is that there is serious 42 lack of interpreters which also results in detainees not being informed in a language they understand. Sometimes, the role of the interpreter is given to another asylum seeker or detainee of the same nationality who is presumed to speak the same language. A mission of the Greek Council for Refugees in the Thrace region in October 2012 found evidence of such practice for instance in the Xanthi police 43 academy and reported poor knowledge of Greek or English of those “interpreters”. The same practice was found in Lesvos, where the Greek Council for Refugees noted in particular the lack of interpreters 44 for Arabic and Farsi in the Mytilene Police Department. 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 “Nonetheless, the Working Group found that in numerous instances the accused did not enjoy this right in practice. Most detainees indicated that they did not have a lawyer because they could not afford it. Very few were aware of the right to free legal assistance. Moreover, a number of detainees who had chosen to engage a lawyer at their own expense complained that the lawyers simply took their money and did not follow up on their cases. Information leaflets on the rights of detainees found in detention facilities are very vague and refer only to the right of any detainee to contact a lawyer. They do not refer to the right to free legal assistance.”United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention statement upon the conclusion of its mission to Greece (21 - 31 January 2013), 31 January 2013. See for example the project under the European Refugee Fund setting up a centre for adolescents by the Society for the Care of Minors in Athens, which included the provision of legal advice as well as psycho-social support. For further information see. Some of these activities are being funded through grants under the European Economic Area Agreement (EEA). EEA grants funding the NGOs in Greece for running reception centres and offering services to vulnerable asylum seekers, especially unaccompanied children. For further information see here. CPT, Report to the Government of Greece on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 19 to 27 January 2011, CPT/Inf(2012)1, Strasbourg, 10 January 2012, par.42. Idem, par.43 and ECRE and ICJ second submission on M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece, at p. 16. The mission furthermore received allegations of “interpreters” asking for money or other material compensation from the detainees they assist. See Greek Council for Refugees, Thrace Report – October 2012, p. 4. See Greek Council for Refugees, Mission report Lesvos (31/12/2012 – 3/11/2012), p.2. 27