The United States could lose its voting rights in the United Nations General Assembly if it continues to fall behind on its financial contributions, the world body has warned.
According to a United Nations spokesperson, the UN Charter’s Article 19 states that a member with unpaid dues equal to or exceeding its assessed contributions for the preceding two full years shall have no vote in the General Assembly unless the body decides the arrears are due to circumstances beyond the country’s control.
US falls back on its dues
The warning comes after confirmation that the United States did not pay its dues to the UN in 2025. Under the UN’s system, all 193 member states are assessed regular budget contributions and peacekeeping costs. The US traditionally bears the largest share, around 22%of the regular budget and a similar proportion of peacekeeping assessments.
Have other countries lost their voting rights over this?
Several countries in the past have already lost their voting rights over arrears, including Venezuela, Lebanon and South Sudan, under the same Article 19 provisions, according to Associated Press.
Will US lose its seat at the UN?
Even if voting rights are suspended under Article 19, the United States would still retain its seat and veto power on the Security Council. Article 19 applies only to the General Assembly. Permanent membership and veto rights on the Security Council are enshrined elsewhere in the UN Charter and cannot be altered without a Charter amendment supported by all five permanent members, including the US itself.
For Washington, the prospect of losing its vote is both symbolic and practical. While the General Assembly cannot bind major powers on security enforcement, exclusion from votes could diminish US moral and diplomatic leadership on issues ranging from climate change to global health and peacekeeping reform. Whether Congress and the administration will take steps to avert such a scenario remains a subject of intense debate in diplomacy and policy circles.
The issue has broader diplomatic ramifications. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has underscored that assessed contributions are a legal obligation under the Charter, and that the organisation depends on reliable funding to carry out peacekeeping, humanitarian and development mandates.