‘children; unaccompanied children; direct relatives of victims of shipwrecks (parents, siblings, children, spouses); disabled persons; elderly; pregnant women; single parents with minor children; victims of human trafficking; persons with serious illness; persons with cognitive or mental disability and victims of torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence such as victims of female genital mutilation.’ According to Article 62(2) Asylum Code, ‘[t]he assessment of vulnerability shall take place during the identification process, the registration process and the medical screening of the Article 41 without prejudice to the assessment of international protection needs’. According to Article 62(4) of the Asylum Code ‘[o]nly persons belonging to vulnerable groups are considered to have special reception needs and thus benefit from the special reception conditions’. Article 62(3) of the Asylum Code provides that ‘[…] the special condition of applicants, even if it becomes apparent at a later stage of the examination of the application for international protection, is taken into account throughout this procedure […]’. According to Article 77(3) Asylum Code: […] Upon completion of the medical and psychosocial assessment, the [Medical Screening and Psychosocial Support] Unit of the RIC […] shall inform the Head of the competent RAO. The above-mentioned assessment is also notified to the Manager of the RIC. That assessment shall have as only consequence the immediate provision of special reception conditions and special procedural guarantees to the applicant. According to Article 72(1) Asylum Code relating to special procedural guarantees: The Receiving Authorities shall assess within a reasonable period of time after an application for international protection is submitted, or at any point of the procedure the relevant needs arise, whether the applicant requires special procedural guarantees, due to –among others- their age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, psychological disorder or because they are a victim of torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence. A new General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection (GSVPIP) falling under the responsibilities of the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum was established with Article 6(1) of P.D. 77/2023 (A' 130/ 27-06-2023) to which the services of the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors of Article 39 of the P.D. 106/2020 were transferred. 650 The number of vulnerable persons registered by the RIS during the 12 months of 2025 throughout the country stood as follows: Unaccompanied minors Single parent families with minor children Victims of Torture Persons with serious illnesses Pregnant women – postpartum women Persons with disabilities 650 Border RICs Mainland facilities Total 971 1,742 2,713 1,986 468 2,454 2,613 4,609 7,222 654 294 948 428 79 507 249 115 364 For more information, see MoMA’s General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection, home webpage, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2u63bw7y. 145