Athens: A Greek NGO lambasted the government on Friday over its plans to change how unaccompanied children seeking asylum are housed when they arrive in the country, calling it a "significant setback".
The draft law would allow such minors to be kept in migrant detention camps. But the Greek Council for Refugees and Migrants (GCR) said the European Court of Human Rights had called such accommodation "unsuitable".
The GCR said the proposals were "an exception to the protection framework for unaccompanied minors" as they would abolish the principle that unaccompanied minors must stay in appropriate reception facilities under child protection supervision.
The NGO and a number of other organisations have recently voiced "deep concern at the ongoing weakening and deterioration of services and programmes intended for unaccompanied minors in Greece".
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said meanwhile it wanted Greece to reconsider its plans, which it felt were not compatible with "European principles."
The UNHCR, of which the GCR is a partner agency, called for exemptions to be afforded to vulnerable people, including unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities and victims of human trafficking or gender-based violence.
Greek migration minister Thanos Plevris said the changes were linked to the "significant reduction" in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Greece and a fall in overall numbers.
The number of undocumented asylum seekers arriving in Greece by sea fell by 41 percent in the first three months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, he added.
Plevris, who backs more restrictive migration policies, said the draft law was intended to establish a "strict and functional framework" for migration flows.
The GCR also criticised the draft for "the obstacles introduced to the freedom of movement of people entitled to asylum" by extending the duration of detention while their asylum applications were being considered.
The bill, which is due to be debated soon in parliament, also gives the authorities powers to reject an application for international protection "without conducting an interview and even in the absence of any fault on the part of the applicant", the NGO said.
