Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945 (hereinafter UN), the issue of protecting and promoting human rights on an international level has been a goal to be achieved, which soon led to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. However, when it comes to safeguarding the rights of children in specific, it was not until 20 November 1989 when the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989, hereinafter CRC) was introduced by the UN General Assembly in resolution 44/ 25 (Detrick, 1999, p 1), thus creating a landmark in a centurylong struggle for social reform (Jupp, 1990, p 131).

Since then, the CRC has played a vital role in the ratifying Member States’ agenda. This is evident especially in recent times when numbers of asylumseeking individuals, including unaccompanied migrant minors (hereinafter UAM or unaccompanied children), are growing to exceptionally high levels throughout Europe (Van Mol and De Valk, 2016, p 37). It also applies to the case of Greece and is confirmed by data provided on both an international and a national level (see UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2013, hereinafter UNHCR; National Centre for Social Solidarity, 2017, 2018, 2019, hereinafter EKKA; Eurostat, 2019).

The status of migrant minors in the European continent has become the subject of many communications, which is confirmed by the growing body of research concerning the exploration of the meaning of children's rights in the context of migration, as conducted by academics, organisations and monitoring mechanisms (Liefaard, 2020). Similarly, a wide range of legislation has been recently introduced in the Greek legal framework, aiming to guarantee the protection and promotion of children's rights concerning migration-related issues. These advancements in the applicable law were achieved through the implementation of international regulations and directives in the domestic policy.

According to Buchanan and Kallinikaki (2020, p 207), Greece possesses a long tradition in hosting migrant populations. More specifically, the country has been the recipient of different groups of individuals that played significant roles in the socio-economic and cultural shaping of the society, already since the 19th century. However, the massive influx of asylum seekers in the past decade, coupled with a severe financial crisis that Greece endured at the time, placed the country's efforts under significant pressure.