Press Release

General Assembly

Twenty-eighth Special Session

1^st & 2^nd Meetings (AM & PM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY MARKS 60^TH ANNIVERSARY OF LIBERATION OF NAZI DEATH CAMPS

Over 40 Speakers Address Day-Long Special Session,

Saying Holocaust Represented Break with Civilization Itself

SENIOR UN OFFICIALS MEET WITH HIGH-LEVEL DELEGATION FROM COLOMBIA

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

ATLAS ON TSUNAMI DAMAGED AREAS IN ASIA PRODUCED BY FAO

Satellite Images, Maps Assist in Responding to Disaster

(Reissued as received.)

COMMITTEE NEGOTIATING TREATY ON RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

OPENS FIFTH SESSION AT UN HEADQUARTERS

The General Assembly Committee drafting the first-ever convention on the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities resumed negotiations today, focusing on the issue of equality and non-discrimination.

Round-up

UN CONFERENCE ON DISASTER REDUCTION CONCLUDES; ADOPTS

PLAN OF ACTION FOR NEXT 10 YEARS

Participants Commit to Reducing Vulnerabilities to Natural Hazards

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

IN MESSAGE TO ‘BIODIVERSITY 2005’, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR RATIFICATION

OF BIODIVERSITY CONVENTION, BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL

Following is the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to “Biodiversity 2005” in Paris today, 24 January, delivered by Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

‘SUCH AN EVIL MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AGAIN’, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION COMMEMORATING LIBERATION OF NAZI DEATH CAMPS

Following is today’s statement by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the special session of the General Asse3mbly, commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps:

NATIONS CALL FOR SAFER HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS TO PREPARE FOR DISASTERS

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

UN SENDS TEAM TO GUYANA FOLLOWING FLOODS

Asian Tsunami Inflicts MultiMillion Dollar DamageonIndonesia’s Environment

New Report Provides Important Lessons for Kobe Conference

(Reissued as received.)