Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/866589
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 AUGUST 2017 9 JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority is con- sidering the demolition of a tradi- tional building in Xatt is-Sajjieda in Marsaxlokk, currently occupied by the Southport restaurant, and its replacement by a 30 room hotel. The proposal, which is being recommended for approval by the Planning Directorate, entails the near total demolition of the exist- ing building located in the Urban Conservation Area of Marsaxlokk. A final decision is expected on 25 September. The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage had not objected to the demolition because the ground floor facade will be retained. The Planning Directorate is also recommending the approval of what it described as "a good exam- ple in urban regeneration". The existing building consists of a two-storey structure with a ground floor facade constructed of local hard stone, which is resistant to sea spray. This full development applica- tion proposes the internal demo- lition of the existing building and of the entire first floor façade. The hotel will include a basement with an indoor pool, a reception on the ground floor, 12 rooms on the first floor, 12 rooms on the second floor and a receded third floor, which includes a restaurant and a pool deck. Din l-Art Helwa had objected to the demolition of the traditional seafront building, insisting that the design of the new hotel was not sensitive to its location and did not respect the historic building. In the case officer report the cur- rent building is described as being similar in its construction to other structures constructed next to or close to the seashore. The proposal involves the up- rooting of an olive tree in the back garden of the building. Both the Design Advisory Com- mittee (DAC) and the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) had requested numerous changes to the design of the new hotel. The latest designs were endorsed by the DAC albeit not by the SCH, which indicated that another op- tion was preferable. According to the case officer the final design "manages to sur- mount the apparent difficulty of tying such a characteristic build- ing with the proposed extension within an area which has already lost much of its character". The design is described as a "good ex- ample of urban regeneration." The case officer also concluded that the proposal does not exceed the "predominant height of the exist- ing streetscape." News EXPRESSION OF INTEREST EXPRESSION OF INTEREST TEMPORARY LEASING OF OFFICE SPACE IN GOZO (Ref: EOI 01/2017) The Assistant Director Corporate Services of the Planning Authority (PA) notifies that: Sealed Proposals for the Expression of Interest for Temporary Leasing of Office Space in Gozo are to be deposited in the Proposals' Box at Gozo Planning Authority, Sir Luigi Camilleri Street, Rabat, Gozo by not later than 10:00hrs of Friday, 15 th September, 2017. An electronic copy of the Expression of Interest EOI 01/2017 can be downloaded free of charge from the PA's website; http://www.pa.org.mt/en/expression-of-interests Any requests for clarifications concerning this Expression of Interest should be addressed to the Assistant Director Corporate Services on email; tenders@pa.org.mt, by not later than Monday, 4 th September, 2017 before 23:45hrs. PLANNING AUTHORITY www.pa.org.mt Italy recently drafted a code of conduct for NGOs who have been conducting search-and- rescue (SAR) operations for boats carrying refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea – such as MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) and (MSF) Médecins sans Frontières. Unlike MSF, MOAS is one of four, out of eight humanitarian rescue SAR ships, who signed the code. MSF, Germany's Sea Eye and Save the Children sus- pended their sea rescues after Libya warned foreign ships to stay out of an expanded zone of control off its coast. One of the reasons that NGOs have been suspicious of the code is because it places upon them onerous conditions they feel would actually endanger their missions. For example, the code forces the ships to allow police officers on board and return im- mediately to port, rather than transferring migrants to other ships. The rules also ban rescu- ers from entering Libyan ter- ritorial waters, and using lights to signal their location to boats at imminent risk of sinking or communicating with smugglers by phone. Additionally, the code threatens to bar from Italian ports NGOs who do not sign the code, forcing them to jour- ney further, carrying passengers frequently including pregnant women, torture victims and in- fants. Jugend Rettet, one of the groups operating rescue ships off the coast of Libya, said that forcing vessels to return to land to disembark migrants would take them out of the search and rescue zone "where they are ur- gently needed". At the heart of the matter is the increasing number of migrants rescued at sea by the Italian coast guard, in part a combina- tion of successful rescues effect- ed by the NGOs as well as better coverage of the Central Medi- terranean route. But elsewhere across Europe, the tide turned against the flows of refugees from the East as the EU clamped down with border controls and the Turkey readmission agree- ment. Italy's logistical burden has now translated into a shift on emphasis from rescue mis- sions, to security control, with the country accusing NGOs of acting as a 'pull factor' as rescue missions went closer to the Lib- yan sea borders to save migrants being taken out on rubber din- ghies with not enough fuel and fresh water to last the journey. UNHCR says that with so many lives at stake, NGOs have played a crucial role in saving lives, providing additional and much-needed rescue capacity – specifically, 40% of all rescue operations in the central Medi- terranean. Sea-Watch has accused the code of conduct of being replete with clauses that are "either re- dundant or simply illegal" – in the words of Dr Violeta Moreno- Lax from Queen Mary Universi- ty of London. That's because the code violates the universal prin- ciple of "non-refoulement" and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). For ex- ample, it proposes an "absolute ban" on entering Libyan waters – but under UNCLOS there is a universal obligation to render assistance to anyone in distress at sea in any waters. Additionally, the clause forbid- ding on-boarding refugees to larger ships would lead to NGOs spending half of their time out of the rescue area ferrying peo- ple to Italy themselves. Smaller NGOs, without the capacity to transport people large distances, might simply disappear. The other question about the code of conduct is that the SAR is already heavily regulated: rescue ships have to keep tran- sponders on, NGOs report their financial details, UNCLOS, cus- tomary international law and NGO charters regulate the kind of activity that goes on. Rules already exist, and NGOs abide by them. But the Italian code is a top-down approach which NGOs claim is a death warrant for thousands of refugees – in- deed, it has no legal standing, unlike international law. There is another important factor at play: the code is a re- sponse to electoral, anti-migra- tion fears. Once again, lives are becoming pawns in a game of politics that finds NGOs to be easy targets. With their selfless commitment to saving lives and reducing deaths that happen when State actors fail to provide effective search and rescue mis- sions, NGOs expose the hypoc- risy of Europe's commitment to human rights. In turn, it seems to embolden the viciousness of Libyan coast guards who are repatriating mi- grants rescued at sea, back to conditions of violence and per- secution in a country torn apart by civil strife. Should rescue NGOs sign Italy's code of conduct? MaltaToday explains Making sense of the news ? Send us your subjects on dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt A paper of no legal standing could lead to the deaths of thousands at sea Marsaxlokk hotel proposed instead of Southport restaurant on town promenade