Seven countries including Iran have lost their right to vote in the UN General Assembly because of upaid dues, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Monday.
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Along with the Islamic republic, the UN stripped Niger, Libya, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe of their voting rights.
Guterres had informed Turkish Ambassador Volkan Bozkir, the current president of the General Assembly, of the decision.
The UN Charter calls for such a voting rights suspension for countries whose arrears equal or surpass the amount of the contributions due from them to UN coffers in the previous two years.
According to information released by Guterres' office, Iran needs to pay $16.2 million to regain its voting rights at the UN.
The UN's budget is around $3.2 billion per year. The budget for peacekeeping operations is separate and totals around $6.5 billion.
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