on  27  January  2017.17  The  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of  migrants  also   noted  that  asylum-­seeking  children  are  frequently  detained  for  more  than  45  days.18   Furthermore,  unaccompanied  children  in  Greece  also  end  up  in  detention  due  to   inaccurate  age  assessment  procedures.  As  observed  by  the  GCR,  police  authorities   systematically  rely  on  X-­ray  examinations,  decisions  do  not  refer  to  an  exact  medical   diagnosis  and  there  is  no  possibility  to  challenge  these.19  The  CPT  urged  Greece  to   establish  adequate  age  assessment  procedures  which  also  provide  for  appeal   channels,20  and  the  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of  migrants  recommended   that  the  country  “strictly”  refrain  from  detaining  children,  both  unaccompanied  and  with   families,  in  conformity  with  the  principles  of  the  best  interests  of  the  child  and  of  family   unity.21   In  terms  of  conditions  of  detention,  under  Law  3907/2011,  whenever  possible,   unaccompanied  minors  are  to  be  accommodated  in  institutions  that  have  specialist   personnel  and  facilities  whilst  families  must  be  provided  with  separate  accommodation   guaranteeing  adequate  privacy.  Detained  minors  must  have  the  opportunity  to  engage  in   leisure  activities,  including  games  and  recreational  activities  appropriate  for  their  age,   and  have  access  to  education  if  they  are  confined  for  long  periods  of  time  (Law   3907/2011,  article  32).  In  turn,  pursuant  to  Law  4375/2016,  unaccompanied  children  in   asylum  detention  must  be  detained  separately  from  adult  detainees.     In  practice,  however,  unaccompanied  children  are  detained  in  unsuitable  and   inadequate  conditions  including  pre-­removal  detention  centres,  police  stations,  and   Reception  and  Identification  Centres  (RICs).  During  his  2016  visit  to  Greece,  the  UN   Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of  migrants  expressed  concern  at  the   inadequate  conditions  and  lack  of  protection  faced  by  those  in  Lesvos  centre  and  police   stations.  As  he  noted,  the  conditions  of  detention  were  “deplorable,  leaving  children  at   heightened  risk  of  abuse,  neglect,  violence  and  exploitation.”  Unaccompanied  minors                                                                                                                           17  European  Committee  for  the  Prevention  of  Torture  and  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or  Punishment  (CPT),   “Report  to  the  Government  of  Greece  on  the  visit  to  Greece  carried  out  by  the  European  Committee  for  the  Prevention   of  Torture  and  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or  Punishment  (CPT)  from  13  to  18  April  and  19  to  25  July  2016,”   CPT/Inf  (2017)  25,  September  2017,  https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/greece;;  Greek  Council  for  Refugees,  “Country   report:  Greece,”  Asylum  Information  Database  (AIDA),  European  Council  on  Refugees  and  Exiles  (ECRE),  December   2016,  http://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece.   18  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of  migrants,  “Report  of  the  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of   migrants  on  his  mission  to  Greece,”  A/HRC/35/25/Add.2,  24  April  2017,   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/SRMigrants/Pages/CountryVisits.aspx.   19  Greek  Council  for  Refugees,  “Country  report:  Greece,”  Asylum  Information  Database  (AIDA),  European  Council  on   Refugees  and  Exiles  (ECRE),  December  2016,  http://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece;;  AITIMA,   “FORGOTTEN:  Administratively  detained  irregular  migrants  and  asylum  seekers,”  October  2016,   http://www.aitima.gr/index.php/en/news/324-­10-­october-­2016-­new-­aitima-­report-­forgotten;;  Amnesty  International,   “Greece:  Enter  at  your  peril:  Lives  put  at  risk  at  the  gate  of  Europe,”  2013,   www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR25/007/2013/en.   20  European  Committee  for  the  Prevention  of  Torture  and  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or  Punishment  (CPT),   “Report  to  the  Government  of  Greece  on  the  visit  to  Greece  carried  out  by  the  European  Committee  for  the  Prevention   of  Torture  and  Inhuman  or  Degrading  Treatment  or  Punishment  (CPT)  from  13  to  18  April  and  19  to  25  July  2016,”   CPT/Inf  (2017)  25,  September  2017,  https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/greece.     21  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of  migrants,  “Report  of  the  Special  Rapporteur  on  the  human  rights  of   migrants  on  his  mission  to  Greece,”  A/HRC/35/25/Add.2,  24  April  2017,   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Migration/SRMigrants/Pages/CountryVisits.aspx.   Global  Detention  Project  ©  2018   6  

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