NOUMÉA PRISON (URGENT RECOMMENDATIONS) representatives of the State, and the people to whom the inspectors spoke did not hide their concerns. Some of these people had also made these concerns known on several occasions to the municipal authorities in Nouméa. At a national level, the Chancery made public on 5th  May 2011 a project for “the restoration and extension of the Nouméa prison bringing the capacity to close to 500 places, with the first stage being ready in 2016”. 7/ The situation is all the more worrying in that today there is no alternative solution available for a rapid alleviation of the current serious difficulties. As has already been notified to the Minister of Justice, it is possible to address the current situation by a phased programme of replacing the existing dilapidated buildings one by one with new ones. The first operation would be the already planned new centre for reduced sentence prisoners within the grounds of the existing institution. However, this construction is currently blocked. According to the 17th paragraph of article L. 122-20 of the New Caledonian Urban Code, the granting of building permits is the responsibility of the City of Nouméa. To date the permit for this operation has not been granted. According to the information at hand, this permit will only be granted if the State commits to relocate the prison elsewhere, since the current site is considered as a prime location for urban development. Thus, the High Commission, working with the the local authorities, has been actively seeking appropriate alternative sites. It has become apparent, though, that none of the seven possible sites identified offers any real solution, either because of the institution’s way of working or because of the likely budget. 8/ Whatever the situation, rebuilding on the existing site is in no way equivalent to moving to another site. The first option will enable a solution, albeit gradual, that can start immediately, something that offers much-needed respite for prisoners and prison staff alike. The second option, even supposing it to be feasible, means a much larger project and a probable lead-time of around a decade before any new facility would see the light of day. The current imbroglio, implicating both the State and the Nouméa city authorities, results in a continuation of the serious violations of the rights of the prisoners of Camp Est. 117