Relocations of minors to EU states under way

A dozen unaccompanied refugee and migrant minors were flown from Greece to Luxembourg on Wednesday as part of a European Union initiative to expedite the relocation of some 1,600 over the next few months to EU member-states.

Greece is currently hosting more than 5,000 unaccompanied migrants under the age of 18, from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and the African continent, many of them at overcrowded camps on the Greek islands.

Their relocation is part of the effort to protect vulnerable groups amid heightened concerns due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), welcomed what they said was an "encouraging start in a larger effort to relocate vulnerable children from Greece in the coming weeks." 

In the same...