A/HRC/45/16/Add.1 66. According to article 118 of Presidential Decree No. 141/1991, children can be placed under protective custody until they are referred to appropriate reception facilities or until they are reunited with the persons responsible for them. Protective custody does not always amount to detention but, in practice, it has mostly been implemented through the detention of children in pre-removal detention facilities or police stations. In some cases, children have been reportedly placed under protective custody in hospitals, also under the care or supervision of the police. 67. The number of children in protective custody remains high. According to data from the National Centre for Social Solidarity, as at 30 April 2020, there were 276 minors in protective custody. The Centre prioritizes unaccompanied minors in administrative detention for placement in alternative emergency accommodation or proper shelters. However, the Government points to the considerable lack of such accommodation for the purposes of covering the needs of all unaccompanied minors. The Working Group welcomes the recent increase in total capacity for the long-term accommodation of unaccompanied minors. By May 2020, while there was a total of 5,009 unaccompanied minors in the country, there were 1,699 places in long-term accommodation and 659 in short-term accommodation. 68. The Working Group confirmed the existing substantial burden on shelter facilities, which resulted in many unaccompanied children being held in protective custody, in unacceptable conditions, in facilities that were not appropriate for the detention of children, such as police stations and pre-removal facilities on the mainland. Although officials appeared to be providing the best support available in the circumstances, the Working Group noted that some children were held for prolonged periods, of more than two months, in conditions similar to those of criminal detention, especially in police stations. These children were held with adults, in dark cells, with no access to recreational or educational activities, and no information on what would happen to them, which appeared contrary to article 37 (c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is no maximum time limit on the period for which a child may be held in protective custody. 69. Furthermore, the Working Group was informed that the Public Prosecutor, as the authority responsible for the care and security of the children under protective custody, did not visit the children in the detention facilities. 70. The Working Group was also informed of the appointment of the National Coordinator for Unaccompanied Minors and was able to meet with her. The Coordinator was in a newly created position for which she was still developing a plan. The Working Group urges the authorities to ensure that the Coordinator has sufficient authority and resources to take effective action to protect children. 71. In February 2019, the European Court of Human Rights found that the automatic placement of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under protective custody in police facilities, without taking into consideration the best interests of the child, violated article 5 (1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights). 7 The Working Group urges the Government to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights by putting an end to the detention of children under protective custody in police stations or other facilities related to the criminal or immigration systems. 72. The Working Group invites the Government to prioritize the best interests of each child, and ensure that children who enter the country in an irregular manner are not detained and are placed in facilities appropriate to their age. As the Greek Ombudsman has observed, this could be achieved by transitioning to community-based care, foster care, supported independent living, and the gradual reduction of institutional structures. The Working Group welcomes the recent European Union initiative for the relocation of 7 12 European Court of Human Rights, Affaire H.A. et autres c. Grèce, Application No. 19951/16, Judgment, 28 February 2019.