#postedepolice

Greece: Move Migrant Children to Safety
276 Unaccompanied Children Behind Bars

(Athens) – Greek authorities should free the 276 unaccompanied migrant children currently detained in police cells and detention centers in Greece, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Releasing the children is all the more urgent amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The prime minister should act on his pledge to protect unaccompanied children and make sure that hundreds of vulnerable children are freed from dirty, crowded cells, sometimes alongside adults, where they are exposed to the risks of Covid-19 infection,” said Eva Cossé, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch. “There is no excuse for failing to give these children the care and protection they need.”
According to the National Center for Social Solidarity, a government body, as of April 30, 2020, an estimated 276 children were in police custody awaiting transfer to a shelter. That is 19 more children behind bars than when Mitsotakis announced, in November 2019, the No Child Alone plan to protect unaccompanied children.
Human Rights Watch research has documented the arbitrary and prolonged detention of unaccompanied migrant children [cf. ►https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/09/08/why-are-you-keeping-me-here/unaccompanied-children-detained-greece ]in police cells and other detention centers, in violation of international and Greek law. Under Greek law, unaccompanied children should be transferred to safe accommodation, but Greece has a chronic shortage of space in suitable facilities.
While they wait for placement in a shelter, unaccompanied children can be held for weeks or months in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, sometimes with unrelated adults, in small police station cells and detention centers where following social distancing guidelines is impossible. They often have little access to basic health care and other services, hygiene supplies, or even natural light. In many cases, they do not receive information about their rights or about how to go about seeking asylum, and many experience psychological distress.
The recent decrease in the time that an unaccompanied child can be held in protective custody, from 45 days to 25, is a step in the right direction. But international human rights standards hold that immigration-related detention, including so-called “protective custody,” is never in the best interest of the child and should be prohibited due the harm it causes, Human Rights Watch said.
The detention of children for immigration reasons is prohibited under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A 2019 UN global study on children deprived of liberty [cf. ▻https://undocs.org/A/74/136 ] reported that even if detention conditions are good, detaining children exacerbates existing health conditions and causes new ones to arise, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal thoughts.
The study highlighted that governments have found non-custodial solutions for unaccompanied children, such as open and child-friendly accommodation, periodic reporting, and foster families. There are always options available other than detention of children for migration-related reasons, the UN study said, and detaining children for their “protection,” even if alternative care is lacking, “can never be a justification.”
The UN children’s agency UNICEF has said that all governments should release children from detention, specifically including immigration detention, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On April 14, Human Rights Watch opened a campaign to #FreeTheKids [cf. ▻https://www.hrw.org/FreeTheKids ], urging people to press Prime Minister Mitsotakis to immediately release unaccompanied migrant children from detention and transfer them to safe, child-friendly facilities. Transitional options could include hotels, foster care, and apartments under a Supported Independent Living program for unaccompanied children ages 16 to 18.
The European Commission should financially support Greece to create additional long-term care placement places for unaccompanied children. Other European Union members should speed up family reunification for children with relatives in other EU countries and should offer to relocate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children – even if they lack family ties.
According to the latest government data, since April 30, only 1,477 out of the 5,099 unaccompanied children in Greece were housed in suitable, long-term facilities. The rest are left to fend for themselves in overcrowded island camps or on the streets or are confined in police cells and detention centers on Greece’s mainland.

▻https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/19/greece-move-migrant-children-safety

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Grèce #Mineursnonaccompagnés #Enfants #Camp #Centrededétention #Cellule #Postedepolice

AYS Daily Digest 16/04/20

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Exposing the harsh realities of the conditions that migrants and refugees are forced to endure, a video has been shared highlighting how 4 young boys are made to shelter in a shack next to an open rubbish dump.
The Council of Ministers have acted on a proposal from the Ministry of Security and have approved new measures to restrict the movement and stay of foreign nationals without valid identification documents, can demonstrate that they are legally staying in BiH or have applied for asylum.
These restrictions will prohibit the movement and stay outside the centres in which these foreign nationals are housed. Anyone found breaching these rules, in accordance with the Law on Aliens will be transferred to the nearest temporary reception centre. These restrictions are implemented on a provisional basis until the Council of Ministers decide that the reason for prescribing these measures has ceased.

Greece
Aegean Boat report claim that there have been no new arrivals on the Greek islands in the last week. If true, this will be the first time since 2015. Unfortunately, we know that this absence of new arrivals is not because safe and legal migrant routes have been opened but because the Greek coast guards have been ordered to prevent migrants from entering Greek waters using the pretext of COVID-19 to justify their actions.
Aegean Boat report has also shared a report into the experience of 131 people who have been abandoned at the point of arrival in Lesvos. These people have been living outside for 25 days without any support from the authorities and with minimal assistance from UNHCR.
Human Right Watch has urged the Greek government to release hundreds of unaccompanied children currently locked up in police cells.
HRW affirms that “kids should be in safe, child-friendly housing with the freedom to learn, play and thrive. Yet, hundreds of migrant children in Greece without a parent or relative are sitting behind bars in police jails and immigration detention. Their conditions create a heightened risk for contracting COVID-19”
The organisation believes that there are at least 331 children currently in police custody waiting for transfer to a shelter. In addition to the psychological stress and the increased risk of contracting COVID-19, HRW has documented instances of ill-treatment by the police that these children have had to ensure.

#Covid-19 #Migration #Migrant #Balkans #Grèce #Bosnie-Herzégovine #Lesbos #Camp #Postedepolice #Détention #Enfants #Mineursnonaccompagnés

▻https://medium.com/are-you-syrious/ays-daily-digest-16-04-20-testimonies-from-people-trapped-at-sea-e74f9f892a5