Madam Chairperson,The item on country situations was included into the agenda of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in 1967.Since then,thirty-six years have elapsed.The ECOSOC Resolution 1235 adopted then authorized the CHR to review "questions of the violation of human rights and fundanmental freedoms including racial discrimination and apartheid in any part of the world,with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories".Over the past 36 years,the deliberations of the CHR have played a positive role in supporting people of all countries in their struggles against colonial rule,foreign aggression and occupation and for abolishing apartheid.Meanwhile,as a result of the impact of the cold war,the deliberations on this item have become the flash point of sharp political confrontation between the two superpowers and the two big blocs.