Nairobi, 5 April, 2005 - Delegates at the plenary of the twentieth session of UN-HABITAT Governing Council listened in grim silence on Tuesday as representatives of three countries suffering the consequences of war, and the tsunami killer wave gave accounts of how they are trying to bring relief to their citizens and secure international aid.

Sri Lanka said its ministerial delegation had been unable to accept an invitation to the Nairobi meeting, held every two years to set UN-HABITAT's work programme, because the officials had