GREECE: Children's Rights in UN Special Procedures' Reports

Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports

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• Working Group on arbitrary detention
• Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
• Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• Independent Expert on Minority Issues

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Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

A/HRC/27/48/Add.2

Country visit: 21 to 31 January 2013

Report published: 30 June 2014

Legal Framework: The Greek Ombudsman and the National Commission for Human Rights are mandated to protect and promote human rights. There are five deputy ombudsmen at the Ombudsman’s office: one for human rights; one for children’s rights; one for health care and social welfare; one for State-citizen relations; and one for quality of life issues. Greece is also a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. It is not party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure (paras 14, 19).

Detention of migrants in an irregular situation: The Working Group deeply regrets the policy the Government of systematically detaining all irregular migrants detected entering the territory of Greece, including families and unaccompanied children, as well as the sweep operations and subsequent detentions in the context of operation Xenios Zeus. Owing to limited detention capacity, in some parts of the country migrants are released relatively quickly and issued with an order to leave the country. This is particularly the case for families with children arriving in the Aegean islands. Several pre-removal centres were built in 2012 and 2013, and there are plans to build more, to increase the detention capacity in the country to 10,000 persons. The construction of these centres is partly financed by the European Return Fund (para 66).

Although the treatment of vulnerable groups (such as women, single-parent families and unaccompanied minors) is a subject of particular concern for the relevant services, the Working Group notes with concern the insufficient training and sensitization of staff in detention centres on international human rights law principles and standards, as well as on principles relating to the rights and treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, with respect to both detention conditions and safeguards (para 101).

Unaccompanied minors: Under Greek law, adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years may be held criminally responsible, even though their acts will always be considered misdemeanours rather than felonies. The law requires that educational and therapy measures be preferred instead of correctional ones. Minors are detained solely in the case of commission of serious crimes. Their detention is always under the supervision of a prosecutor. Individuals aged between 18 and 21 years are considered young adults. Law No. 220/2007, which also incorporates European Union Directive 9/2003/EC, applies to unaccompanied minors, stipulating that a prosecutor is to be notified of the case whether or not the minor has submitted an asylum application. The prosecutor is appointed temporary guardian; at a later stage, in cooperation with social services and nongovernmental organizations, another person, usually a social worker, will be appointed the permanent guardian (paras 104, 105).

During its visit, however, the Working Group found that unaccompanied minors were often not properly registered and were systematically detained. It notes with concern that the current national legislation does not provide for a statutory prohibition of the detention of minors. According to the Government, in practice, unaccompanied minors are, after some weeks in detention centres, placed under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Welfare and transferred to a guest house for minors. During its visit, however, the Working Group found that, owing to the limited capacity of existing reception facilities, unaccompanied minors often remained in detention for a prolonged period of time waiting for a place to become available. Unaccompanied minors who do not apply for asylum or who were refused asylum and not granted protective status are subject to deportation or to recurrent detention (paras 106, 107).

Recommendation: The Government should refrain from detaining unaccompanied minors and families with children, in conformity with the principles of the best interests of the child and of family unity (para 130).

Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau

(A/HRC/23/46/Add.4)

Country visit: 25 November - 3 December 2012
Report published: 18 April 2013

• International legal framework: Greece is a party to core international human rights treaties, [...] with the exception of the optional protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure. (para 11)

• National Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management: In August 2010, Greece submitted to the European Commission a National Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management, which addressed the gaps for managing migration and asylum in the Greek system, including in relation to facilities for families with children and vulnerable groups. [...] The Special Rapporteur was informed that all three services should be operational by June 2013. He urges the Greek Government and the European Union to work together to ensure their swift operationalisation, including providing appropriate staff and budget. (para 21) A revised Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management was presented to the European Commission in January 2013. [...] The Special Rapporteur hopes that the implementation of this action plan will be carried out with full respect for the human rights of migrants. (para 22)

• Readmission agreements:
• A readmission agreement between Greece and Italy was signed in 1999. [...] However, it does not provide any explicit references to the Convention on the Rights of the Child or the principles therein, such as giving primary consideration to the best interests of the child. [...] Migrants detected as stowaways or upon disembarkation from a ferry in Italy are often returned by Italian authorities, on the same ship, without the formality of requesting permission from Greece. This also includes unaccompanied children. (para 31) Greek authorities should insist that Italian authorities respect the conditions of the readmission agreement, and refuse summary returns outside said agreement. (para 32)
• A readmission protocol between Greece and Turkey was signed in 2002. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this agreement focuses almost exclusively on combatting "illegal" migration. [...] It does not provide any specific guarantees for respecting the human rights of migrants, such as non-refoulement or the principle of the best interests of the child. (para 33)

• Detention practices: The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets the Greek Government's new policy of systematically detaining all irregular migrants detected entering Greek territory, including families and unaccompanied children. (para 45)
• The Special Rapporteur noted some ad hoc alternatives which demonstrate that non-custodial measures may work, but they are not properly implemented. For example, in Lesvos, he observed that, due to the limited capacity and the resulting overcrowding, some migrants were quickly released with an order to leave the country within 30 days. Others, particularly families and unaccompanied children, were not detained at all. However, those who had not been detained were not provided with orders to leave the country and thus were not able to board boats leaving for Athens; as a result they were stuck on the island. Unaccompanied children were able to stay in the shelter in Agiassos, while families had to sleep on the street on in parks. (para 63)
• Just before the Special Rapporteur's visit to Lesvos, the local authorities provided facilities (PIKPA, a summer camp close to the airport) to house some of these migrants. [...] The Special Rapporteur urges Greek authorities to support such initiatives as an alternative to detention, particularly for children and families. The Greek Government should cooperate with  CSOs in this respect, without placing all the responsibility on the CSOs. (para 63)

• Detention conditions:
• The Special Rapporteur was particularly concerned at the detention of families at Petrou Ralli, as well as the detention of unaccompanied children at Amygdaleza detention facility for minors. At Petrou Ralli, families were separated and were only allowed to meet briefly in the evenings. Detention conditions were totally unacceptable: beds were concrete slabs, and some of the detainees were sleeping on mattresses on the floor; there were no toilets in the cells[...]. [...] Migrants were kept locked up in their cells most of the day. There were toys for the children to play with in the courtyard, but nothing in the cells. (para 51)
• At the central police station in Lesvos, the Special Rapporteur met with a 15-year-old boy who was charged with migrant smuggling. The boy did not speak any English or Greek; he seemed unaware of the charges against him and no guardian had been appointed to him. He claimed to be travelling together with his adult brother, but this man was also charged with smuggling and clearly not in the position to look after the best interests of the boy. (para 76)
• At Amygdaleza detention facility for minors there was a small "cage" which was supposed to serve as a courtyard, but the Special Rapporteur was told that the children rarely went outside. (para 52)
• The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned at the systemic violations of the human rights of the migrant children in Greece. [...] The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets the complete disregard for these children's right to family reunification. (para 74)
• The Special Rapporteur strongly recommends that unaccompanied children, as well as families with children, not be detained at all, but rather be subjected to non-custodial measures, if necessary. For families, this should apply to the whole family, in accordance with the best interests of the child and the right to family unity. (para 53)
• Refrain from detaining children, whatever the circumstances, and provide them with appropriate accommodation. (para 111 (a))

• Alternatives to detention:
• The Special Rapporteur recommends to refrain from detaining children and families with children, in conformity with the principle of the best interests of the child and of family unity. Shelters should be established, especially for these categories of migrants. (para 100)
• The Special Rapporteur welcomes the information that two new reception facilities for especially vulnerable migrants will be established, according to the revised Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management. (para 64) If properly implemented, the First Reception Service should be able to quickly and effectively screen in migrants with vulnerabilities (for example, asylum seekers, children, migrants with illnesses or disabilities, victims of trafficking, victims of violence, persons in need of family reunification). (para 65)
• Children who are not detained live in very difficult conditions in Greece. [...] In Patras, the Special Rapporteur met with unaccompanied children who were living outside, in abandoned buildings or under highway overpasses, without any proper status and without any institutional support, apart from the action of some civil society organisations. (para 77) The Special Rapporteur strongly urges Greek authorities to refrain from detaining children, but to provide accommodation for unaccompanied children in shelters, either Government-run or those run by the CSOs and supported by the Government. Guardians should be appointed for all unaccompanied children. (para 78)

• Age assessment procedures: The Special Rapporteur met with migrants who claimed to be younger than 18, but who were kept in detention with adults, while others were kept in facilities for children, either detention centres or shelters, even though they were above 18 years. (para 75) The Special Rapporteur urges Greek authorities to systematically undertake age assessments to identify children and ensure they are treated in accordance with their age; also to establish due procedural guarantees in this respect, including the right to appeal. (para 75; para 111(b))

• Access to recourse/facilities: The Special Rapporteur urges the Greek Government to appoint a guardian for all unaccompanied children, as required by Greek law, and ensure access to all migrant children by official children's aid societies, civil society organisations as well as international organisations concerned with child welfare. (para 111(d)) The Special Rapporteur also encourages the Greek Government to ensure that all children are able to access education and health-care services, without fear of being reported to immigration authorities. (para 111(c); para 78)

• Family reunification: Assist unaccompanied and separated children with family reunification, whenever possible. (Para 111(e))

Independent Expert on Minority Issues

(A/HRC/10/11/Add.3)

Visit: 8-16 September 2008
Report published: 18 February 2009

Ethnicity: Many community members of Turkish ethnic origin firmly rejected the government position of identifying three groups within the Muslim minority. One stating: "For us being Muslim and being Turkish are one and the same." However, the Independent Expert met individuals who self-identified as Pomak and Roma who described pressure to speak and learn Turkish instead of Pomak and to identify as Turkish. One described a climate of intimidation and pressure for their children to attend minority schools. Some stated that members of the Pomak and Roma community are discriminated against if they do other than describe themselves as Turkish. (Paragraph 15)

Education issues

Minority Primary Schools. Community representatives claim that the quality of education in minority primary schools falls far below Greek public schools and that the schools do not serve the fundamental needs of the community. Teaching standards are allegedly poor and training courses for minority teachers have been reduced from four years to two, with subsequent lowering of teaching standards. Low quality language teaching means that children are not proficient in either Greek or Turkish on leaving primary school. Problems have reportedly led some families to prefer their children to attend Greek public schools (Paragraph 25)

Bilingual education: A commonly stated problem is the absence of bilingual kindergartens for the Muslim minority. This would allow better knowledge of both Turkish and Greek from an early age therefore providing benefits in terms of integration, and enabling greater choice of whether to go to minority or Greek public primary school. (Paragraph 26)

Koran schools: Elected Muftis and other community representatives commonly voiced dismay that 240 Imams or Islamic teachers required to teach the Koran in schools and lead prayers, would be appointed by a Committee of five orthodox Greeks with no Muslim members. While this law (Bill 3536) has yet to be implemented, they consider this an inappropriate intervention in the affairs of the Muslim community and religion. (Paragraph 27)

Roma education and discrimination: The indipendent expert visited three Roma settlements: near Spata, Aspropyrgos, and in the municipality of St. Varvara.

During the visit to the Spata area it was highlighted that none of the children living in the Roma settlement currently attend school. Following a visit by European Parliamentarians in 2003, a bus was provided to take about 18 children to school, however it ceased operation reportedly due to lack of funds. The settlement is some five kilometers from the nearest school making it extremely difficult for young children to attend without transport provision. One mother stated that her children were refused registration, reportedly on the grounds that the school was full and there are no special facilities for Roma children. She was told that the children should have been registered previously, but she had never been informed of this requirement. (Paragraph 60)

In Psari, Aspropyrgos, education for the settlement's children remains a highly controversial issue and the subject of a European Court of Human Rights judgment. In 2004 Roma children from the Psari, Aspropyrgos Roma settlement were refused registration to attend a local school. Following brief attendance, non-Roma parents objected to the extent that all Roma children were placed in special afternoon classes. After further parent protests, Roma students were removed to a prefabricated annex distant from the main school. In 2006/7 the annex was defaced with racist slogans and destroyed by fire and a Roma pupil was attacked resulting in withdrawal of Roma children from any classes. In June 2008 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the conditions of school enrolment for Roma children and their placement in an annex for special preparatory classes because of their Roma origin, constituted a violation of Articles 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with article 2 of Protocol 1 (right to education), and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention. To date, Greece has not satisfactorily resolved the situation in compliance with the European Court ruling. (Paragraph 61)

The Independent Expert visited the annex which consists of a fenced, concrete, compound with two metal prefabricated units, one of which is used for teaching. At the beginning of the school year the teaching unit had been repaired following vandalism and had no teaching facilities such as desks and chairs. A permanent security presence is required to guard against further vandalism. It is important to stress that the vandalism was not carried out by the Roma themselves. (Paragraph 62)

At the time of the Independent Expert's visit, Roma children did not have full and equal access to education. The Roma children have been placed in the same "annex" of the main school that was the subject of the European Court judgment, reportedly due to lack of places in the main school and lack of specialist teachers and preparatory facilities for Roma. Community members and civil society representatives believe that pressure from parents and the local authorities, are a significant factor in the children's exclusion. (Paragraph 63)

Ministry of Education representatives acknowledge continuing problems regarding education of Roma. They agreed that significant challenges stem from local authorities and from communities that do not want the Roma to attend mainstream schools, resulting in some cases in "branches" of schools being opened for Roma. They noted their belief that a degree of separate and specialist "catch up" schooling is required prior to Roma children joining the mainstream school system, since there is not a culture of going to school among some communities and children may need assistance to integrate fully. (Paragraph 64)

Many Roma remain in squalid living conditions with their children either in segregated schools or unable to access educational opportunities due to their identity. The European Court of Human Rights has recently issued judgments against Greece in cases where the Court found failures to grant to Roma access to justice as defined by international standards and failure to guarantee the right of Roma children not to be unlawfully segregated into inferior schools. (Paragraph 97)

Exceptional issues facing minority women: Muslim women experience severe inequalities in access to education and consequent disproportionately high levels of illiteracy and unemployment. The application of Sharia law in some instances subjects Muslim women to norms incompatible with the Greek constitution, legislation and international standards, particularly with respect to child marriages. This practice evidently continues with serious implications for the health, well being and life choices of minority women, but regularly goes un-challenged by Greek authorities. (Paragraph 74)

Child marriage. Young Roma women typically marry and have several children at a very early age, reportedly as young as 13. Child marriage is considered a tradition, but is also a consequence of lack of education and alternative opportunities. Girls have particularly high school drop out and illiteracy rates, as it is common for them to leave school upon marriage. Young Roma women often beg with their children since most men have irregular incomes. 40 percent gave birth to their first child at the age of 12-16 years and 30 percent of births take place in tents or shacks within Roma settlements. (Paragraph 75)