providing adequate training to police and border guard personnel, whom in many cases serving as the first point of contact between newcomers and the EU/Greek state, are also the first officials/representatives of the state responsible for safeguarding these rights. Detention and other types of restrictions It is highly worrying that following the Statement’s implementation, blanket detention and limits to the freedom of third-country nationals/stateless persons have once more been increasingly employed as de facto means for managing migration, either throughout the asylum process (detention and geographical restriction of liberty), or in preparation for its delayed commencement (pre-RIC detention). In this context it is to be reminded that measures leading to or aimed at curbing asylum seekers’ liberty are to be strictly and only ever be used as measures of last resort, following consideration and exhaustion of all possible, less coercive, alternatives, on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with national and international law and legislation, and subject to the provision of the necessary mechanisms for the remedy of the injured party (i.e. asylum seekers). Accordingly, the Greek state should: 8. Immediately and without delay end the so-called pre-RIC detention of asylum seekers in Evros, which aside from having no grounding in law, also serves to further victimize vulnerable persons and groups. 9. Similarly and in line with the principle of non-discrimination, the “pilot/lowrecognition nationality” detention project on the islands and in every other location where such discriminatory treatment applies should be brought to a halt. Biased treatment of asylum seekers on the basis of individual/protected characteristics (e.g. nationality or gender) not only contravenes the non-discrimination principle, but also highlights an intrinsically predisposed and thus malfunctioning system of asylum and reception. 10. Immediately transfer all asylum seekers out of detention cells and Pre-Removal Centers and into suitable accommodation, and put an end to the use of such facilities in the future. It is unacceptable for any person to be exposed to the kind of inhumane and degrading conditions characteristic of cells and Pre-Removal Centers, let alone persons fleeing persecution. 11. Ensure that vulnerable asylum seekers and especially children are never detained. Vulnerable asylum seekers should be treated in accordance with, at least, the minimum standards set forth by the Reception Directive, and as a rule provided with appropriate shelter, where their specific needs can be met. 12. Abolish and/or minimize the use of geographical restriction to only the absolute necessary, for the identification and registration processes to take place, time. As it stands, the policy of island-confinement not only serves to leave newcomers without proper access to crucial services (e.g. healthcare), but also adversely 60