Fourteen unaccompanied children left Greece on Thursday to relocate to Portugal.
In a post on social media, the new UNHCR Representative in Greece, Maria Clara Martin, underlined that "thanks to the strong work of the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors with the EU relocation mechanism for unaccompanied migrant children, the lives of 1,000-plus children have changed for the better! We look forward to the continuation of our cooperation!"
According to sources, one child is from Syria, five are from Afghanistan, one is from Somalia, two are from Pakistan, one is from Mali, two are from Bangladesh and two from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since the beginning of the relocation programme for unaccompanied children implemented by the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, a total of 1,063 unaccompanied children have been transferred to other EU Member States, of which 93% are boys and 7% are girls.
The head of the International Organisation for Migration in Greece, Gianluca Rocco, noted that through this mechanism "the Special Secretariat has established a sustainable national mechanism for the support of vulnerable children".
READ MORE: 43 Afghan refugees relocated to Portugal from Athens.