At these exceptional times marked by a global pandemic, the Initiative for Child Rights in the Global
Compacts (the Initiative) has put together a collection of practices from its members, to support
governments to better protect and support refugee children by putting the Global Compact on
Refugees (GCR) into practice with children at its heart.

Members of Greece's parliament should urgently establish an inquiry into all allegations of unlawful returns of migrants to Turkey by law enforcement officers and others, 29 human rights and humanitarian aid organizations said in an open letter released today. These returns are carried out mainly through pushbacks and collective expulsions and are often accompanied by violence.
 

Following yesterday’s fire in Moria, on Lesvos, which destroyed the Reception and Identification Centre, 30 civil society organizations call on the Greek Government to immediately provide assistance to people who lost their shelter. Those affected, among them many children and at-risk groups, must be carefully transferred to safety on the mainland. 

Terre des hommes (Tdh) and its partners developed three online courses focusing on protecting migrant and refugee children and their families.

We, the undersigned organizations, jointly call on European governments to proceed immediately with the emergency relocation of unaccompanied children from the Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) on the Greek islands, with no discrimination, giving precedence to existing family links and the best interests of the child.

Recalling the letter issued on 6 March 2020, signed by more than 250 organizations throughout Europe, the undersigned organizations reiterate the dangers stemming from persisting in current arrangements on the management of the reception of asylum seekers and the respect for their right to seek asylum in Greece. 

Greece’s government should immediately reduce congestion in the islands’ Reception and Identification Centers (RICs) for asylum seekers and migrants to avert a public health crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic, 21 human rights and humanitarian organizations said today.

In view of recent developments at the country's borders, in particular those concerning people who have been in Greece since March 1st, first residing in a military naval ship at the port of Mytilene and then being transferred to the mainland, we would like to express our deep concern regarding the fact that among the newcomers, there are families with children, and (according to all indications) unaccompanied minors for whom we have no information. 

The undersigned organisations are deeply concerned about recent developments at the Evros border and the Aegean islands where people are stranded at the borders of Europe, instrumentalized for political purposes, and subject to violations of their rights. We are also deeply concerned about the way the authorities of Greece and the European Union are handling new arrivals.

European Union (EU) Member States should urgently relocate unaccompanied children from the Greek islands to safety in their territory, while ensuring that the children’s best interests are taken into account, 65 human rights, humanitarian and civil society organizations said in a statement today.