South Sudan regained the UN General Assembly voting rights on Thursday, February 11, after paying arrears that led to blacklisting.

The General Assembly spokesman Brenden Varma told AFP that the youngest country paid arrears before clearance, though; more details are yet to be revealed on how much the Juba administration parted with.

“South Sudan has made the necessary payment to reduce its arrears,” Varma said.

South Sudan was required to foot membership fee worth $22,804 to redeem its membership.

Normally, the assembly can suspend members whose arrears equal or surpass contributions with two years.

 ‘‘A member of United Nations which is in arrears in payment of its financial contributions to the organisation shall have no vote in the general assembly if amounts of its arrears exceeds or equals the amount of contributions due from it for the preceding two full years,’’ a January statement from the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres read.

‘‘The General Assembly may, nevertheless, permit such a member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the member.’’

At the time of suspension, South Sudan Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Deng Dau Deng told a local radio station that the money was wired to the UN but the funds were returned to the country.

The UN’s budget runs to the tune of $3.2 billion per year. Aside from this is the budget for peacekeeping operations which totals to around $6.5 billion.

Yet to comply

The January 13 statement listed 10 countries that were yet to pay their 2019 and 2020 dues. Others included Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Iran, Libya, Niger Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.

According to AFP, a UN source confirmed that there a commitment by CAR and Congo to pay their debts.

The states gain memberships after a recommendation is written by the Security Council to the General Assembly.

‘‘The recognition of a new State or Government is an act that only other States and Governments may grant or withhold. It generally implies readiness to assume diplomatic relations,’’ the UN states on its website.

Five countries—namely China, Russia, USA, France and UK—currently enjoy veto power and are members of the security council of the UN. The five have permanent membership on the premise of playing instrumental role in the global peace.