On 23 May 2019, the European Committee of Social Rights published the decision on admissibility and on immediate measures in the case International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) v. Greece, Complaint No. 173/2018.

The ICJ and ECRE allege that serious systemic flaws in Greek law, policy and practice, which deprive unaccompanied migrant children in Greece (both on the mainland and islands) and accompanied migrant children on the Greek islands of rights to housing, health, social and medical assistance, education, and social, legal and economic protection, are contrary to the obligations of Greece under the European Social Charter. The Committee declared the complaint admissible on 23 May 2019 and decided to indicate to the Government immediate measures which should be adopted. In particular, the European Committee of Social Rights requested the Greek Government:

• to ensure the appointment of a guardian at the time that a separated or unaccompanied child in need of international protection is identified as well as the effective functioning of the guardianship system;
• to ensure the use of alternatives to detention of migrant children, and to ensure in particular that unaccompanied children in police stations, pre-removal centres and Reception and Identification Centres are provided with immediate access to age-appropriate shelters;
• to ensure access to food, water, education, and appropriate shelter;
• to ensure access to health care and medical assistance, in particular by ensuring the presence of an adequate number of medical professionals to meet the needs of the children whose rights are the subject of this complaint; and
• to ensure that all the relevant public authorities are made aware of this decision.

The Committee may indicate immediate measures to respondent Governments pursuant to Rule 36 of its Rules, which reads as follows:

“Rule 36: Immediate measures”

1. As from the adoption of the decision on the admissibility of a collective complaint or at any subsequent time during the proceedings before or after the adoption of the decision on the merits the Committee may, at the request of a party, or on its own initiative, indicate to the parties any immediate measure the adoption of which seems necessary with a view to avoiding the risk of a serious irreparable injury and to ensuring the effective respect for the rights recognised in the European Social Charter.”