Child custody

The International Organization of Migration (IOM) said on Monday it had set up two new safe zones for unaccompanied minors inside the migrant camps of Vagiohori, east of Thessaloniki, and Filipiada, northwest of Arta.

These areas provide educational and creative activities, sports and transportation where needed, aiming at the children's eventual integration into local societies.

New legislation seeking to right many wrongs in the obsolete framework of Greek family law, particularly with regard to the custody of children in the event of separation, will be presented to cabinet by Justice Minister Konstantinos Tsiaras before heading to MPs for approval.

A bill reforming family law for the first time in about 40 years will be introduced in Parliament in the coming days, introducing joint custody of children.

The new legislation stipulates that the child can spend one-third of the time with the parent they don't live with, instead of just the occasional weekend or holiday provided for currently.

The minors were taken from the father’s custody by authorities

The planned changes in family law, namely joint custody and the alternating residency of children between divorced parents, are widely seen rectifying a protracted injustice to fathers in Greece, while some legal experts say that it is essential for safeguards to be instituted.

The process of moving thousands of migrants out of state facilities and subsidized accommodation across the country is to begin on Monday though authorities have not determined which facilities will be affected first nor how long the process will take. 

The US government will provide 2.9 million dollars in financial assistance to Greece to improve the living conditions of unaccompanied minors and support the islands against the Covid-19 pandemic, it was announced by Alternate Minister for Citizens' Protection Giorgos Koumoutsakos and US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt following a meeting on Thursday.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday urged Greek authorities to release 276 unaccompanied migrant children detained in police cells and detention centers across the country, saying the move was all the more urgent due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Greek authorities say two Afghan men have been jailed for six years and nine months each after being convicted of participating in riots this week at a migrant detention center near the border with Turkey where some 150 unaccompanied minors are being held.

Portugal is to take in 500 children from Greek refugee camps as soon as restrictions on movement imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak are lifted, the country's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Tuesday.