Roundup: Greece makes strides in migrant children protection, more to be done: UNICEF

Greece has made strides in the protection of refugee and migrant children in recent months, but more should be done to secure a better future for children in need, UNICEF representatives and Greek officials said in Athens on Tuesday.

At least 20,000 minors, including 2,000 unaccompanied children, are among the 64,000 refugees and migrants stranded in Greece after the closure of the Balkan route to central Europe and the launch of the EU-Turkey agreement in March 2016 to stem the flows via the Aegean Sea, according to the official data provided by UNICEF and Greek authorities during a press briefing on the situation of refugee and migrant children in Greece.

Addressing the event organized by UNICEF's Refugee and Migrant Response Team in Greece, UNICEF's Country Coordinator on the Refugee and Migrant Response, Laurent Chapuis, and Greek officials gave an overview of the work done so far and the challenges remaining to improve the living conditions of refugee children and facilitate their smooth integration into local society through education.

They all acknowledged the significant progress steps achieved, urging for more joint and coordinated efforts by the Greek state, European partners, international organizations and civil society to close existing gaps.

Greek Deputy Ombudsman for children's rights Giorgos Moschos presented a report on the situation of refugee and migrant children in Greece in the second half of 2016 based on the findings of the independent authority's monitoring mechanism, which is supported by UNICEF.

Approximately 8,000 minors are accommodated in 34 state-run open refugee and migrant centers nationwide, about 1,000 unaccompanied children live in special shelters, while more than 6,000 children are hosted in apartments and hotel rooms under a UNHCR program.

The 38 percent of asylum requests submitted in 2016 in Greece were submitted by underage refugees, according to the Ombudsman's report.

From November 2015 until April 2017 some 4,800 underage refugees were relocated in other European countries, including 245 unaccompanied children, while 59 minors returned to Turkey under the March 2016 agreement.

About 2,800 children were attending afternoon classes in Greek public schools until early 2017.

The main goal for Greek authorities is to improve the everyday life of all these children so that they will no longer feel outsiders, Moschos said.

"After more than a year from the launch of the EU-Turkey agreement, with more than 60,000 refugees and migrants stranded in this country, including 20,000 kids, the basic challenges for the Greek state is to offer these children the possibility for social and educational integration," the Greek official told Xinhua.

Sofia Tzitzikou, President of the Hellenic National Committee for UNICEF, called for more efforts to ensure access to education for all refugee and migrant children.

"These children I believe -- this is our view in UNICEF -- are a treasure. Societies become richer when welcoming children from other civilizations," she told Xinhua.

"We do no longer like the use of the term refugee child," she said, stressing that there are no differences between children forced to leave their homes due to war with other kids.

Tzitzikou stressed that the number of refugee children in Greece represent only one percent of the population of all minors in the debt-laden country, therefore they should not be viewed as an "unbearable burden".

Periklis Tziaras, President of the National Center for Social Solidarity (EKKA) of the Greek Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Social Solidarity, referred to the assistance provided in particular to unaccompanied children.

The capacity of the shelters established has increased impressively in a year, also with UNICEF's financial support. Due to the debt crisis EKKA did not have the necessary funds to create the shelters without international aid.

"Unfortunately the influx of unaccompanied minors has not decreased so much compared to last year. We are receiving many requests to provide shelter... From 350 beds available a year and a half ago we have now reached 1,350 beds. The country has achieved a Herculean task in this case," Tziaras told Xinhua.

"The work is not over. There are still a lot of efforts to be made to protect the most vulnerable of those children against some of the risks of exploitation, trafficking, smuggling, gender based violence, prostitution," Laurent Chapuis said, speaking to Xinhua.

"So UNICEF intends to continue invest in direct service delivery with Greek partners but also to work with the state at central and municipal level for the state to strengthen its own capacity to prevent and respond to these issues in the longer term, and that is what UNICEF intends to do here in Greece," he said.

UNICEF has allocated 16 million euros (17.5 million U.S. dollars) for various programs to support refugee and migrant children in Greece in 2017. Endit