GREECE IRREGULAR MIGRANTS AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS ROUTINELY DETAINED IN SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS 57 105 There is no specific legislative provision or interpretative guidance stipulating that unaccompanied minors who have not applied for asylum will be entitled to accommodation in the special reception centres for children. The Greek authorities report that unaccompanied migrant children, whose deportation cannot be effected, are accommodated in special reception centres (see UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Second and Third Periodic Report by Greece, para 384). However, the reality for many unaccompanied migrant children is different. Only a few of the special reception centres have places available for non-asylum-seeking unaccompanied children and there are many instances where they are released from administrative detention without appropriate care arrangements being made for them. Ayiassos special centre on the island of Lesvos is one of the few that accepts non-asylum-seeking unaccompanied children (see UNHCR, Observations on Greece as a country of asylum, December 2009, p 13). On the other hand, Arsis, the special reception centre in Thessaloniki, provides accommodation only for asylum-seeking unaccompanied children (interview with Arsis personnel, February 2010). According to an announcement issued by the staff of the Ayiassos centre on 13 July 2010, the operation contract of the centre expired on 10 July 2010. The expiration of the contract led to the loss of all personnel providing specialized services to the children. The staff reported delays in the signature of new contract by the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity as well as delays in the evaluation of an application for funds submitted by the management of the centre to the ERF and the Ministry (Announcement of 9 July 2010). 106 Demetropoulou and Papagheorghiou,op.cit., pp 61-63. 107 European Migration Network, Policies on reception, return, and integration arrangements for, and numbers of, unaccompanied minors – an EU comparative study, Report on Greece, Athens, August 2009. 108 The unaccompanied children are usually transferred to the special reception centre for children in Ayiassos on the island of Lesvos. 109 Interview with social worker, A. Theodoridou, Samos, 26 June 2009. 110 Interview with prosecutor, Mrs Katsi, Samos, 26 June 2009. 111 According to Article 27 (2) of the Children’s Convention, “States shall provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing”. 112 Movement for the rights of migrants and refugees, Samos, interview, March 2010. 113 Report by Marianna Tzeferakou and Natasha Strahini, September 2009, op. cit. 114 Reply of the Attika Aliens’ Police Directorate (Deportations Department) to the Greek Section of Amnesty International, 22 December 2009. Greek legislation provides competent authorities with the discretion to use medical tests in order to determine the age of unaccompanied children who apply for asylum but does not define the type of medical tests to be followed. Amnesty International understands that currently medical tests are not used in practice for the age assessment of unaccompanied minors (see Article 12 (4) of PD 90/2008; UNHCR, Observations on Greece as a country of asylum, December 2009, p. 11; European Migration Network, Policies on reception, return and integration arrangements for, and numbers of, Unaccompanied Minors – an EU comparative study, May 2010, p. 79). 115 Amnesty International has seen several police notices provided to unaccompanied children and also those given to adult irregular migrants upon their release, where the date of birth registered appears consistently as 1 January. 116 CRC, General Comment No. 6 (2005), op.cit., para 31. 117 See also UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. 118 Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third country nationals, OJ L 348/98, 24 December 2008. 119 Guideline 10, UNHCR Revised Guidelines on Applicable Criteria and Standards Relating to the Detention of Asylum Seekers (1999). Index: EUR 25/002/2010 Amnesty International July 2010