language of the applicant's choice. Interpretation shall be provided in the official language of the applicant's country of origin or in another language that the applicant is reasonably expected to understand, including international sign language. All information regarding the operation and structure of the Reception and Identification Service, the operation of the Asylum Service and the Regional Asylum Offices, information and updates about the Asylum Procedure on first and second instance, as well as press releases and announcements pertinent to those who seek or have been granted international protection are available in Greek and English at the Ministry of Migration and Asylum’s website.815 For accurate and timely dissemination of the latest update on asylum and migration issues, the Ministry has also created a Viber community.816 In 2020, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum also launched a new platform,817 where applicants and beneficiaries of international protection, as well as their representatives, can proceed to the following actions: v Schedule an appointment with the competent Regional Asylum Office v Be informed on the renewal of international protection cards v Apply for change of personal data and contact information v Submit application for separation of files v Submit application to request statement of application status v Submit application to postpone/ expedite the interview date v Submit additional documents v Request for copies of personal file v Apply for legal aid at second instance v Apply for notification of ΠΑΑΥΠΑ (Provisional Social Security and Health Care Number) v Apply for notification of Tax Registration Number Although these initiatives were supposed to make the Asylum Service accessible to everyone, as well as to avoid congestion and long waiting queues outside the Regional Asylum Offices, especially during the pandemic, the adjustment of the applicants and beneficiaries to this new reality was not easy, and at times, simply not possible. The main difficulty was the actual access to the platform, since many of the persons of concern were either illiterate or technologically illiterate. This issue, combined with the fact that the Asylum Offices did not serve requests that could be submitted through the online system, eventually excluded many applicants and beneficiaries from those services. Using the platform to request for copies or to make appointments with the asylum service is currently mandatory. Therefore, persons visiting the Asylum Offices are denied access and are referred to the platform. The need for improvement and for the provision of alternative solutions was raised by several NGOs through a letter addressed to the National Commission of Human Rights in December 2021.818 In 2022, Amnesty International also drew attention to the fact that the platform is still not available in all languages, the initial menu is only in Greek and English, and there is a special section for refugees from Ukraine, which is an obvious discrimination against the rest of the refugee population considering more information is made more easily accessible to user of Ukrainian origin.819 Moreover, legal aid for the appeals procedure must be requested via the electronic application of the Ministry for Migration and Asylum, which significantly hinders access for those not familiar with the use of electronic applications or who do not have access to the required equipment/internet.820 Moreover, in practice the Head of the RICs on the islands and Evros and the Head of Pre-removal detention facilities 815 816 817 818 819 820 See: https://bit.ly/39WDeDR. See: https://bit.ly/3J1xTKx. See: https://bit.ly/3tLovGq. Letter signed by 14 NGOs communicated to the National Commission of Human Rights on 16 of December 2021, not available online. Amnesty International, ΠΡΟΣΒΑΣΗ ΣΤΟ ΑΣΥΛΟ (ΚΑΠΟΙΕΣ ΕΠΙΣΗΜΑΝΣΕΙΣ), 30 June 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3WtfkXV. The electronic application platform for legal aid and other applications relevant to the asylum procedure is available at: https://bit.ly/3BPGrCV. 169