Iranian Foreign Ministry responds to vote suspension at UN
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson says US sanctions imposed on Tehran have prevented the country from paying its outstanding dues.
Iran's Foreign Ministry responded to the suspension of Iran’s right of voting at the UN General Assembly due to unpaid debts and fees.
The Ministry's Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh made it clear that Iran, one of the founding and active members of the UN, commits itself to the full and timely payment of its membership fees to the UN and other international organizations, but the "US sanctions imposed on Iran have prevented the country from paying its outstanding dues" for the second year in a row.
Khatibzadeh confirmed that “despite numerous difficulties created, the Iranian government has provided the necessary resources to pay its membership fee to the United Nations and is conducting the necessary consultations to resolve the problem.”
The Iranian diplomat called on the UN Secretary-General and Secretariat to consider special conditions for the countries targeted by US sanctions particularly and help these countries pay their dues.
The UN charter states a member country's right to vote is suspended when it has outstanding payments that should have been paid over the preceding two years.
However, the General Assembly may pardon the country if the outstanding payment is "due to conditions beyond the control of the member."
It is noteworthy that till now Iran, Sudan, Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, Congo, Guinea, and Papua New Guinea have lost their right of voting at the UN General Assembly.