GREECE IRREGULAR MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS ROUTINELY DETAINED IN SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS 29 4. DETENTION OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN Unaccompanied asylum-seeking and migrant children in Greece face a series of obstacles to realizing and protecting their rights. Inadequate procedures for determining their age, detention alongside adults, lengthy detention in conditions which sometimes amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, insufficient places in special reception centres, deportation of unaccompanied migrant children and a problematic guardianship system are among the issues of concern that Amnesty International has raised on the basis of research conducted and reports received over the past year. Amnesty International believes that there should be a prohibition on the detention of unaccompanied children provided by law. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is the body monitoring state compliance with obligations stemming from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, explicitly states that in the best interests of the child “unaccompanied or separated children should not, as a general rule, be detained. Detention cannot be justified solely on the basis of the child being unaccompanied or separated, or on their migratory or residence status, or lack thereof”. The CRC calls on States Parties to make all efforts, including acceleration of relevant processes, to allow for the immediate release of unaccompanied or separated children from detention and their placement in other forms of appropriate accommodation.97 The EU Reception Conditions Directive sets out special provisions for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. In particular, it requires Member States to ensure legal guardianship or representation by an appropriate organization. Furthermore, Article 20(1) of the Children’s Convention obliges Greece as a state party to provide “special protection and assistance” to children who are not in their family environment. In the case of a child who may be seeking asylum, Article 22 requires Greece to take "all appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status … whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights." Greek legislation regarding the administrative deportation of foreign nationals does not protect unaccompanied children from being detained pending deportation. Regarding asylum-seeking children, Article 13(4) of PD 90/2008 stipulates that the competent authorities should avoid the detention or “confinement” of children, especially those who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their families. In practice, this requirement is not followed. In August 2009, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern about reported cases of ill-treatment of asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants, including unaccompanied children, and recommended that the Greek Index: EUR 25/002/2010 Amnesty International July 2010