It has been already well established that children and young people who migrate have an undebated claim to special support and care according to protectionist rhetoric (Bhabha, 2001, p 299). However, the discussion themes that emerged from this study's interviews, both superordinate and subordinate, confirmed that a children's rights approach was never applied properly in the case of unaccompanied children arriving in Greece.

First and foremost, it was demonstrated that between the years 2016 and 2020, after entering the country in an irregular manner, unaccompanied children were not placed in a protective environment, as the law originally intended. Instead, they were almost automatically placed in detention facilities. In fact, it was proven that the conditions within detention facilities for unaccompanied children in N. Greece were inconsistent with a wide spectrum of international human rights instruments and legal frameworks, including the CRC and the national law (Papadopoulos, 2020, p 193). As a result, the well-being of detained UAM was challenged considerably, as minors were subjected to a highly inappropriate setting which deprived them of the protection that was expected.

During the interviews, unaccompanied children revealed that they were placed in rooms, the maximum capacity of which was in most cases surpassed. According to practitioners, this context was caused by the country's inability and unpreparedness to host a high number of vulnerable migrant populations in suitable accommodation units.

Also, the lack of hygiene was repeatedly mentioned throughout all interview stages. In fact, unaccompanied children confirmed that it was rather common to experience severe skin infections, as the mattresses and blankets that they were provided with in detention had never been cleaned and they were usually placed directly on the floor. With respect to the availability of restrooms, a detention setting was described where the toilet was located right next to said mattresses. Furthermore, the fact that the toilet lacked separating walls revealed the absolute lack of privacy, which further resulted in unaccompanied children feeling particularly offended due to the degrading living conditions that they were subjected to.

Moreover, emphasis was placed on the fact that most detention centres were not equipped with showers and household appliances in general, such as washing machines, whereas if a shower was available, it would be placed next to the toilet.