- 22 - In particular, at the detention facilities of irregular foreign nationals (for which the Hellenic Police is competent), unaccompanied children are separated from other irregular migrants and the necessary procedures are followed to determine their nonage with the assistance of other agencies, State bodies and collaborating NGOs. It is noted that, as regards their detention, unaccompanied children are under protective custody and are temporarily accommodated in police premises, always in special premises and not together with adults, until they are transferred, according to applicable laws, in association with the National Centre for Social Solidarity (EKKA) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to appropriate open accommodation centres, according to the child's best interests. This procedure is followed in all instances, even when the unaccompanied child does not seek asylum, in implementation of article 19 of presidential decree 220/2007, which transposed Directive 9/2003. In particular, the Prosecutor for Minors or the competent Prosecutor at the First Instance Court is appointed interim guardian of the child and then, in association with NGOs and social services, the permanent guardian of the child is appointed (usually a social worker) to ensure the necessary representation of the child. If the appointed guardian does not perform his duties, he may be replaced by order of the Prosecutor. It is also mentioned that, following the issuance of Law 4375/2016 (Government Gazette 51/03.04.2016, series A) especially for Eastern Aegean islands, pursuant to articles 8 par.2a, 9 and 14 par.2, 8 (article 11 par.5 of Law 3907.2011 has been abrogated), the Reception and Identification Agencies and, by extension, the Administrator of every Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) are competent for the management of unaccompanied children. In any event, unaccompanied children are separated from other irregular migrants and are always held in special premises, away from detention facilities for adults, until they are taken to more appropriate premises in association with the EKKA and NGOs, always on the basis of their best interests. To this end, instructions have been issued to competent Police Directorates to maintain continuous cooperation with the Administrators of the Reception and Identification Centres (RICs). The establishment of national strategy for the management of unaccompanied foreign children, legislation for a reliable system to determine nonage, the reform of the institution of guardianship and the creation of more accommodation centres for unaccompanied children are long-standing requests of the Hellenic Police Headquarters. The Ministry of Migration Policy has undertaken to work out the appropriate legal framework to ensure more effective protection of unaccompanied foreign children in our country. At the same time, the jointly-competent Ministry of Migration Policy is implementing a plan to reorganize the accommodation centres on the mainland (hotspots), with emphasis on the creation of safe zones for unaccompanied children, and a training programme devised by the Ministry of Education is being implemented for refugee/ migrant children. 3. Children in Migrant Detention Centres Paragraph 47: Request for information: detention conditions in the Special Holding Facilities for Unaccompanied Foreign Children at Amygdaleza At the time of the visit of the Committee, the agencies of the Directorate of Foreign Nationals of Attica transferred the unaccompanied children to the Special Holding Facilities for Unaccompanied

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