- Lebanon to pay arrears to regain its rights at the international organization.
- Lebanon has been in a deep crisis since 2019.
- UN Secretary-General stated that Lebanon must pay a minimum of $1.8 million.
BEIRUT: After losing UN voting rights for the second time in three years due to unpaid contributions, Lebanon, which is in a severe financial crisis, said on Friday that it would pay arrears to regain its rights at the international organization.
In a letter dated January 17, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres listed Lebanon, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, South Sudan, and Venezuela as countries that had currently lost their UN General Assembly vote.
The UN dues would be paid “directly, in a way that preserves Lebanon’s rights at the UN,” according to Lebanon’s foreign ministry. The reasons for the delay were not mentioned in a ministry statement.
In his letter, Guterres stated that Lebanon must pay a minimum of $1.8 million to regain its voting rights.
Under UN rules, a country can lose its vote in the General Assembly if it is in arrears by any amount equal to or greater than the contributions due for the previous two years unless it can demonstrate an inability to pay that is beyond its control.
Lebanon has been in a deep crisis since 2019 when its financial system collapsed due to decades of wasteful spending, mismanagement, and corruption by ruling elites.
The state has been largely paralyzed since it defaulted on its foreign currency in 2020, with spending slashed across the board and foreign aid from the United States and Qatar helping to pay soldiers’ salaries.
The crisis, which the UN says has left eight out of ten Lebanese poor, has been allowed to fester, prompting the World Bank to label it a deliberate depression orchestrated by ruling factions.
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