A national framework program has commenced in Greece to locate and protect unaccompanied minors left homeless or living in unsuitable conditions, an initiative that includes participation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. The framework was created by the special secretariat for unaccompanied minors of the relevant Greek migration and asylum ministry, in cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other international NGOs.
The Church of Greece has already signed a MoC with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to reinforce programs aimed to protect unaccompanied minors, who found themselves in Greece, usually after being ferried from neighboring Turkey by migrant smuggling gangs.
In a previous message, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, stressed that the Church most definitely wants to help unaccompanied minors.
The Church of Greece has requested that the age of minors be determined in order to best meet their needs for shelter and education.
