- 46 As regards staffing, it is positive that there is a regular presence of a social worker and a psychologist in the Amygdaleza facility. However, staff working inside the facility should be nonuniformed, receive special training for working with juveniles and be composed of both sexes;50 the presence of both male and female staff can have a beneficial effect in terms of the custodial ethos and foster a degree of normality in a place of detention. Children deprived of their liberty should also be offered a range of constructive activities (with particular emphasis on enabling a child to continue his or her education). 80. In the light of the above remarks, the CPT recommends that the Greek authorities take the necessary steps to ensure that unaccompanied children, who are deprived of their liberty as a last resort, are only held in centres designed to cater to their specific needs, staffed with properly trained men and women and offering a range of constructive activities. Further, all unaccompanied minors should be provided with a guardian who keeps them informed of their legal situation and effectively protects their interests. More specifically, the Committee recommends that the Amygdaleza Special holding facility no longer be used for the detention of unaccompanied minors; instead, more suitable premises, preferably open, should be found, which meet the above-mentioned requirements for such a facility. 81. The CPT’s delegation came across unaccompanied minors in several of the pre-departure centres, whose claims to be under 18 had only very recently been confirmed by the Greek authorities. However, no steps had been taken to ensure that these minors were separated from adults or at least supervised more closely by staff from the centres.51 Further, they were provided with no information about their future status or what would happen to them, nor were any efforts made to provide them with any activities (especially physical and educational). The 17 juveniles at the Paranesti centre were moved, along with some 50 adults, into a less congested building two days prior to the delegation’s visit, but apart from this no other measures had been taken. Many of these juveniles stated that they had always maintained that they were minors but that the police officers who processed them upon apprehension had classified them as adults. Various NGOs met by the CPT’s delegation recounted receiving similar allegations. The CPT recommends that steps be taken to put in place contingency plans in each pre-departure centre to manage unaccompanied minors in accordance with their status. Further, police officers should be reminded to accurately record the ages provided by apprehended irregular migrants. Persons who claim to be juveniles should be treated as such until proven otherwise, unless the claim is manifestly unfounded.52 Moreover, in the light of various media reports concerning the closure of the Agiasos reception centre for unaccompanied minors, the CPT would like to be informed of the current facilities (capacity and actual occupancy) available for receiving unaccompanied minors and whether their future operation is financially secure. 50 51 52 At the time of the visit, six male police officers were assigned to custodial duties on each shift. For example, at the Xanthi centre, the delegation noted that a juvenile, acknowledged as such by the authorities, had been held together with adults for five months following his detention on 18 October 2012. According to Article 37 (c) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age.