49 setting that anticipates hosting children, partic- interviewed, UAMs generally have not been ac- ularly children without caregivers, must pro- commodated separately from adults. As there vide sufficiently trained care staff who can were no possibilities for recreational activities provide the children with a safe, caring and at all, as mentioned above, a child-friendly stimulating environment. Each quarantine fa- space was obviously not available. Researchers cility receiving children should assign one staff have also never heard of sufficiently trained member as a focal point for child protection is- staff members or the appointment of a legal sues. Staff who monitor the health of quaran- guardian for UMAs during quarantine. tined children should be trained to recognize Moreover, in several instances the UAMs were the symptoms of COVID-19 in children, as well quarantined longer than the established – but as signs that they need immediate medical as- without legal legitimacy - 14-day quarantine sistance.”203 period, in contravention of the EU and Greek Application asylum law 204 requirement that UAMs only be As far as Equal Rights is aware there is no safe detained for the shortest possible amount of zone for UAMs in Lefkonia; instead, they were time.205 made aware of instances in which minors–both b. Women accompanied and unaccompanied–were ac- Legal Framework commodated with the general population. EU206 and Greek law207 require that the “gen- One unaccompanied seventeen-year-old asy- der-specific concerns” be considered with re- lum seeker interviewed informed the police of spect to the accommodation of asylum his age when he was being placed in the quar- seekers, and that appropriate measures be antine, but he was still placed alongside all the taken within accommodation centres to pre- others, not considering the special protection vent gender-based violence 208 . Moreover, needs required for UMAs. According to those World Health Organization. (2020). Considerations for quarantine of contacts of COVID-19 cases: interim guidance, 19 August 2020. World Health Organization, available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/333901. 204 In November most were quarantined longer than the established 14-day period due to a backlog in registering asylum applicants. The one unaccompanied minor on Chios was quarantined for 17 days, because authorities did not process him over the weekend. 205 Art. 11(3) and 18 Directive 2013/33/EU; Art. 48(2) Law 4636/2019. 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, Judgment of 28 February 2019, 19951/16 H.A. and others v. Greece. 206 Art. 18 (3, 4) Directive 2013/33/EU (“MS shall take into consideration gender and age-specific concerns and the situation of vulnerable persons in relation to applicants within the premises and accommodation centers. MS shall take appropriate measures to prevent assault and gender-based violence”). 207 Art. 60(2) (c, d) Law 4636/2019, (“gender issues shall be taken into account for referral to an appropriate host; appropriate measures are taken by the staff of the premises where applicants live to prevent gender-based violence and violence, including gender identity-based violence, sexual abuse and harassment within the accommodation centres”. 208 UNHCR notes that “risks of SGBV, particularly for women and girls, increase during displacement”. While SGBV can affect all genders, it most commonly affects women and girls. UNHCR notes that “SGBV is based on ‘patriarchal power relations and gender discrimination. The term ‘Gender-Based Violence’ ‘is most commonly used to underscore how systemic inequality between males and females, which exists in every society in the world, acts as a unifying and foundational characteristic of most forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls.’ GBV also describes ‘the violence perpetrated against women, girls, men and boys with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities as well as non-binary individuals because it is driven by a desire to punish those seen as defying gender norms.’” UNHCR PROTECTING FORCIBLY DISPLACED WOMEN AND GIRLS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC March 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3jWpkKp. 203 ‘Quarantine of Asylum Seeker’ – A legal classification of the quarantine practice on Chios