SECRETARY-GENERAL, EXPRESSING REGRET AT BREAKDOWN OF PEACE TALKS IN COLOMBIA,

SAYS HIS GOOD OFFICES REMAIN AT DISPOSAL OF PARTIES

The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

Security Council

4474^th Meeting (PM)

SECRETARY-GENERAL, ADDRESSING SECURITY COUNCIL ON MIDDLE EAST, PALESTINE,

SAYS ‘OUTLOOK IS BLEAK’ –- BUT NOT IRREVERSIBLE

Council President Promises Further Debate on Issue

Committee on Relations

with Host Country

210^th Meeting (PM)

HOST COUNTRY COMMITTEE MEETS TO DISCUSS TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS, VISAS

The issues of travel restrictions and entry visas were the focus of discussions, as the Committee on Relations with the Host Country met this afternoon.

Commission for Social Development

Fortieth Session

10^th Meeting (AM)

DRAFT TEXTS ADDRESSING YEAR OF FAMILY, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

INTRODUCED IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

SECRETARY-GENERAL EXTENDS DEEPEST CONDOLENCES FOLLOWING TRAIN FIRE IN EGYPT

     The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

            The Secretary-General is deeply saddened to learn of the fire that broke out on a moving train today, 40 miles south of Cairo, Egypt, and consumed the lives of upwards of 350 people, many of them children.

FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING GAINS AWARENESS-RAISING TOOL

IN GLOBAL TELEVISION CAMPAIGN

VIENNA, 19 February (UN Information Service) -- A new video spot is being released today as a part of a global television campaign by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP) to increase education and awareness about trafficking in human beings.

SECRETARY-GENERAL, AT NEW YORK AWARDS DINNER, PRAISES HONOUREES FOR USING ART

TO MOBILIZE PEOPLE FOR ‘VITAL JOB OF MAKING OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE’

Following are the remarks of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the second annual African Century Challenge Award Dinner, organized by Shared Interest, in New York on 18 February:

PRESS STATEMENT BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Following is today’s statement to the press on the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Security CouncilPresident Adolfo Aguilar Zinser (Mexico):

Commission for Social Development

Fortieth Session

9^th Meeting (AM)

NEED TO FOSTER POSITIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS ELDERLY, DISABLED PERSONS STRESSED,

AS COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES DEBATE

SECRETARY-GENERAL ADDRESSES INTERNATIONAL PEACE ACADEMY SEMINAR

ON ‘THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’

Following is the text of the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the International Peace Academy seminar in New York City on “The Responsibility to Protect”: