48 5. Special Conditions for Vulnerable People a. Minors Under EU and domestic Greek law as well as un- cerns’ be considered when providing accommo- der European human rights law, the state must dation to asylum seekers. 196 Regarding UMAs provide special preconditions for particularly specifically, EU and Greek asylum law require vulnerable asylum seeker. Article 21 et seq. RCD that UAMs be accommodated separately from defines certain groups in need of protection. adults throughout the asylum procedure 197 as The “special need for protection” in Article 21 et well as in circumstances of detention. 198 With seq. RCD is not congruent with the concept of respect to detention of UAMs, the best interests “vulnerability” within the meaning of Article 3 of the child must be the driving consideration ECHR. This is because the telos of the respective throughout detention and UAMs may “never be legal concepts is different. While the RCD is cen- detained in prison accommodation”199 and only tred on the premise that certain groups of per- be detained for the shortest possible amount of sons require special guarantees in the context of time.200 an asylum procedure, the case law of the ECtHR Moreover, EU and Greek asylum law note that on vulnerability under Article 3 ECHR is based the possibility to engage in leisure activities on the idea that certain groups of persons are shall be guaranteed for detained children–un- particularly “vulnerable” with regard to human accompanied201 and accompanied alike.202 rights violations. Thus, the ECtHR’s criterion was developed with the idea that certain groups of people may be at particular risk of human rights violations. The following sections introduces the specific protection provisions designed for minors, women and families while juxtaposing them to the situation in the quarantine on Chios. Legal Framework EU and Greek law require that ‘age-specific con- The WHO Guidelines affirmatively dictate what a child-only zone during quarantine should look like: “children should be quarantined and cared for in a child-friendly space, taking into consideration the specific needs of children, their safety as well as physical and mental well-being…Any Art. 18 (3) Directive 2013/33/EU; Art. 63 Law 4939/2022. Art. 24 Directive 2013/33/EU; Art. 32 Law 4636/2019, Art. 65 (1)(b) Law 4939/2022 (Greek law provides that UAMs be placed in centers adapted for their special needs for the duration of their application procedure, or until they are placed with a foster family or in supervised lodgings.). 198 Art. 11 (3) Directive 2013/33/EU; Art. 52(2) Law 4939/2022. 199 Art. 11 Directive 2013/33/EU; Art. 52(2) Law 4939/2022. 200 Art. 52(2) Law 4939/2022; See also: The ECtHR found that the automatic placement of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under protective custody in police facilities, without taking into consideration the best interests of the child, violated Art. 5(1) ECHR. ECtHR, Judgement of 28 February 2019, H.A. and others v. Greece, 19951/16. 201 The ECtHR has elaborated that detention conditions that seclude unaccompanied migrant minors from the outside world and deprive them of any recreational facilities, radio, television, or access to outdoor space are sufficient to invoke feelings of isolation that could prove dire to a child’s physical and mental well-being, and thus expose them to degrading treatment in contravention of the CPT and in violation of ECHR Art. 3. See: ECtHR, Judgement of 28 February 2019, H.A. and others v. Greece, 19951/16, para 168; ECtHR, Judgement of 13 June 2019, SH.D. and others, 14165/16, para 50; ECtHR recalled its own jurisprudence regarding immigration detention in police cells as well as standards established by the CPT, such as its 2017 report that declared unacceptable the days-long detention of unaccompanied minors for “protective” purposes without any psychological or social assistance. 202 Art. 52(2) Law 4939/2022. 196 197 ‘Quarantine of Asylum Seeker’ – A legal classification of the quarantine practice on Chios