This morning, the Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, addressed the House of Lords during an event titled ‘Protecting unaccompanied minors: enabling relocation and preventing human trafficking’.
The Alternate Minister characterised the issue of unaccompanied child migrants and refugees as one of the most sensitive aspects of migration, which the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe intends to highlight.
As he noted, “respecting human dignity and protecting human rights, particularly of people who belong to vulnerable groups, and especially children, require actions taken in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity.”
In this context, Mr Varvitsiotis made a detailed presentation before the Lords of the special treatment already provided by the Greek state to unaccompanied minors and the special measures taken for their protection, underlining the initiative of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, titled “no child alone.”
The full text of the address by the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs can be found below:
Dear friends at the House of Lords of the United Kingdom,
It is my pleasure to address you today in my dual capacity as Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs for European Affairs of the Hellenic Republic and as Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
In addition to the main theme of the Greek Chairmanship, which concerns the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the context of a pandemic, the issue of unaccompanied migrant children is one of vital importance, which the Greek Chairmanship intends to highlight.
As such, I am pleased that the topic you are covering today is fully aligned with the priorities of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe.
Respecting human dignity and promoting and protecting human rights, particularly of people who belong to vulnerable groups, and especially children, require actions taken in a spirit of cooperation and solidarity.
As you are aware, Greece is responding to the issue of migration. The continuous migration flows from Turkey and their instrumentalization in the Evros region last February and March on behalf of Turkey leave no room for a fully effective migration policy.
At this time, my country is hosting over 85,000 refugees and asylum seekers, facing an unprecedented challenge in terms of reception facilities.
More specifically, approximately 35,000 asylum seekers are located on the islands of the Aegean Sea, having packed our Reception and Identification Centres.
The issue of unaccompanied child refugees is, indeed, one of the most sensitive aspects of migration.
Unaccompanied minors are a special category among refugees and must be treated differently.
This was one of the challenges we in Greece had to face in the context of managing migration flows.
At present, 4,898 unaccompanied minors have been registered in Greece, 9% of whom are under the age of 14.
When unaccompanied minors are first identified, they are separated from the other categories, both legally and physically.
By following the initiative of the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, titled “no child alone”, all cases of unaccompanied minors are treated differently than those of other asylum seekers: a National Coordinator has been appointed and the majority of the relevant responsibilities were transferred from other state authorities to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
New structures were created for their accommodation, taking account of the special conditions and their needs, as well as the protection of their health and dignity. At present, 1,688 long-term hospitality accommodations are fully operational and are expected to number 4,000 by year’s end.
There are also 749 temporary places in temporary accommodation.
All migrant children, whether or not they are unaccompanied, are vaccinated and granted access to the public education system at specially set-up structures within 138 state schools throughout Greece.
Furthermore, the relocation process is underway in cooperation with specific EU Member States.
I am pleased to note that the United Kingdom displayed a spirit of understanding and solidarity. A Strategic Action Plan signed last April (22/4) between our two countries provides for the relocation of 50 unaccompanied migrants from Greece, of whom 16 are already in the UK.
Following similar agreements, 12 unaccompanied minors were relocated to Luxembourg, 47 to Germany, and we are working with our European partners for additional relocations.
At this point, I would like to stress the importance of solidarity.
Migration is an issue that no Member State is able to face alone. It is a major challenge and, as such, requires a collective, comprehensive approach.
With these words, I would like to conclude my address and wish you every success with your event.
June 19, 2020