Government blames UN sanctions for failure to pay arrears

JUBA – South Sudan government has blamed United Nations sanctions for its failure to pay two-year membership arrears which led to stripping of its right to vote at the most important international body.

Last week, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to the President of the UN General Assembly president that South Sudan along with nine other states have not paid their membership arrears for more than two years.

According to the UN charter, a member who has not paid its arrears will lost its right to vote.

However, speaking during an interview with the Juba-based Eye Radio, South Sudan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs Deng Dau Deng said the world’s youngest country could not paid its membership fees because it has been turned away because of imposed sanctions.

“The money was wired on the 14th December 2020. You know we have sanctions problem,” he said.

“So, the money was wired and the corresponding bank returned the money to the bank [of South Sudan],” he added.