Human Rights Watch was unable to obtain data on the number of unaccompanied children who have been transferred from EU member states to Greece. Such data are not systematically gathered by either the sending or the receiving country and there is no such requirement under relevant EU regulation.340 After NGOs and the UNHCR openly criticized Greece’s asylum system, including the lack of protection and care for unaccompanied children, several countries suspended transfers of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin II regulation. Norway announced in February 2008 it would stop transferring any asylum seeker back to Greece under the Dublin II regulation. In September, it backtracked and announced that transfers to Greece would be based on individual assessments. 341 In April 2008 Finland announced a similar move.342 Germany and Sweden have limited the suspension of transfers to unaccompanied children only.343 340 Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Community statistics on migration and international protection and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No. 311/76 on the compilation of statistics on foreign workers, Official Journal L 199 , 31/07/2007 P. 0023 - 0029 , June 1, 2007, http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32007R0862:EN:HTML (accessed August 28, 2008), art. 4.4. Member states are not required to enter the age of the migrant or asylum seeker into the “Eurodac” database. EC Regulation EC 2725/2000 of 11 December 2000 concerning the establishment of 'Eurodac' for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin Convention, L 316/1, http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2000:316:0001:0010:EN:PDF (accessed August 29, 2008), art. 5. 341 Greek Helsinki Monitor, “Norway suspends asylum seekers referral to Greece because of rights violations,” press release, February 10, 2008, http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/feb/greece-norway-dublin-violations.pdf (accessed September 3, 2008). “Tightening of the immigration policy,” Norway Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion, press release, no. 88, September 3, 2008, http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/aid/Press-Centre/Press-Releases/2008/tightening-of-theimmigration-policy.html?id=525564 (accessed September 12, 2008). 342 Leigh Philips, “Finland halts Migrant Transfer to Greece after UN criticism,” EU Observer, April 21, 2008 http://euobserver.com/9/26016 (accessed September 3, 2008). 343 “Sweden halts return of child asylum seekers to Greece,” The Local, May 7, 2008, http://www.thelocal.se/11584/20080507/ (accessed September 12, 2008). UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR Position on the Return of Asylum seekers to Greece under the "Dublin Regulation,” April 15, 2008, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4805bde42.html (accessed September 12, 2008), footnote 31. Additionally, several national courts, including courts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Sweden, as well as the European Court of Human Rights, have halted transfers under the Dublin regulation. See Human Rights Watch, Greece – Stuck in a Revolving Door, p. 85, footnote 214. European Council on Refugees and Exile, “Dutch district court blocks Dublin transfer to Greece,” ECRAN Weekly Update of July 11, http://www.ecre.org/files/ECRAN%20Weekly%20Update%2011%20July%202008.pdf (accessed September 3, 2008). European Council on Refugees and Exile, “Belgian court stops Dublin-transfer of asylum seeker to Greece,” ECRAN Weekly Update of April 18, 2008, http://www.ecre.org/files/ECRAN%20Weekly%20Update%2018%20April%202008.pdf (accessed September 12, 2008). NGOs, however, raised concerns that while countries suspended transfers to Greece they did not examine the claims and asylum seekers found themselves in legal limbo. Left to Survive 98