ANNUAL POLICY REPORT 2012 In the field of healthcare, a Minister's Circular138 in May 2012 illustrated that illegally residing third country nationals would not have access to medical and nursing healthcare, with the exception of emergencies that are life-threatening, urgent incidents, persons infected by HIV or other diseases until their situation is stabilized. Hospitals, sanatoria, clinics do not fall in the ambit of the Circular when it is about third country nationals urgently admitted for hospitalization and minors, unaccompanied or not, for which in any case and irrespective of their legal status and the absence of legalizing documents, unimpeded access to health care services is guaranteed. The aforementioned provisions do not include those granted refugee status, the asylum seekers, those under international protection for humanitarian reasons and those entitled subsidiary protection. The required documents that the third country national should bear are recorded in detail for each of the abovementioned cases in the Circular. In April 2012 examinations for the irregular migrants and asylum seekers with infectious diseases that are characterized as medical urgency according to the criteria of the WHO, ECDC and CDC, were established by virtue of a Decision of the Minister for Health under the title “Regulations for containing the spread of infectious diseases” 139. L. 4070/2012 (GG Α΄ 82/2012) includes amendments of article 13 of PD 114/2010 and article 76 of L. 3386/2005, which provide for the possibility of detaining irregular migrants that constitute danger for the public health. With a view to establishing a harsher stance against criminality, according to an article in daily newspaper140, Secretariat General of the Government is said to have stated in September 2012 that following relevant assignment by the Prime Minister, it would forward to the responsible Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human rights a legislative pre-draft, so that illegal entry and/or residence in Greece would be considered an aggravating circumstance entailing an increase in the length of the sentence imposed for having committed a criminal offense. On the issue at stake Amnesty International expressed its strong concern, saying that this constitutes a violation of international law by introducing discrimination on the basis of the migration status of the person. In order to strengthen its viewpoint Amnesty International reminded the stance of the UN Commission for the Eradication of Racial Discrimination, of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, of the UN Arbitrary Detention Working Group, of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants regarding a similar decision taken earlier in 2008 in Italy, which at the end was annulled by the Italian Constitutional Court as violating the principle of non-discrimination141. 138 Υ4α/οικ. 45610/02-05-2012 Circular of Ministry of Health regarding the implementation of 139491/06 Common Ministerial Decision (GG 1747/Β/30.11.06). 139 Γ.Υ. 39α/2012 Ministerial Decision (GG Β 1002/2-4-2012) 140 http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_17/09/2012_461692 141 http://www.amnesty.org.gr/%CF%84%CE%B1%CF%83%CF%87%CE%AD%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%CF%82- 50