The Joint Brief on the situation of the rights of the children on the move for April-June 2026 is published by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Save the Children.
Children arriving in Greece face not only dangerous journeys, but also a new legal framework that risks weakening the safeguards they need most.
The brief examines Greece's national legislation implementing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and highlights significant concerns for children and families:
- A two-tier system for unaccompanied children
- “Safe zones” risk becoming de facto child detention by another name
- Children pending age assessment may be pushed into border procedures
- Weak independent monitoring risks leaving safeguards on paper
These developments risk undermining progress made in strengthening the protection system for children, including unaccompanied children.
Greece and the EU must:
- Ensure Pact implementation strengthens, not weakens, child protection safeguards
- Protect unaccompanied children from detention, adult accommodation and prolonged stays in restrictive settings
- Restore safeguards in age assessment procedures
- Ensure genuinely independent monitoring of children’s rights
Read the full Joint Brief in Greek and English here and here
