UN General Assembly
1997

of a particular Member State or group of States. The process of the democratization of the United Nations is particularly important in the context of the reform of the Organization, especially that of the Security Council, which is long overdue. Malaysia supports an early resolution of the issue. Ambassador Razali Ismail, in his capacity as President of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly and as Chairman of the high-level working group on the reform and restructuring of the Security Council, tried his best to move the process forward. Concerted efforts must continue to be made to ensure that, since the Council’s permanent members cannot be abolished, its continued existence must reflect current realities, in particular the significant role of the developing countries in international affairs. At the same time, as a matter of principle, there should be no discrimination or differentiation between the old and the new permanent members. If reform of the Council is to be truly comprehensive and consistent with the spirit and realities of