Human rights advocates have stepped up criticism of Lana Nusseibeh’s candidacy for UN secretary-general, arguing that her record of defending the United Arab Emirates’ foreign policy, including its denials of involvement in Sudan’s war, disqualifies her from the post.
Opposition to the Emirati diplomat has grown since she entered the race last week, a late move that upended a contest to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends this year.
Despite months of campaigning by senior UN figures and former national leaders, the Security Council’s five permanent members have not agreed on a consensus choice.
The sharpest criticism came at a webinar organized by campaigners under the title “Call to Stop UAE Minister’s Bid for UN Top Job Amid Sudan Genocide.”
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Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Nusseibeh had been asked about the UAE’s alleged arming of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and “blatantly denies it without regard to the facts.” He said this falls short of the human rights leadership the job requires.
Sudanese advocate, Husam Mahjoub, founder of Sudan Bukra TV, warned that electing the UAE’s senior diplomat would put the UN in the hands of that government’s chief defender just when Sudanese civilians need powerful states held to account. A survivor of the El Fasher massacre also spoke at the event.
The criticism draws on a UN fact-finding mission’s finding last month that foreign weapons, military technology, fighters and logistics networks, including people and entities in the UAE, are helping sustain the conflict. Sudan’s war began in April 2023 as a power struggle between the army and the RSF. It has displaced more than 14 million people.
Read More: Costa Rica’s Grynspan Edges Ahead in Race to Lead the United Nations
Nusseibeh, 48, told a General Assembly dialogue on Tuesday that Sudan would be her top priority as secretary-general. She called the RSF’s atrocities appalling and pledged to back all UN fact-finding missions, accountability and transitional justice.
In response to the activists’ criticism, she said she would put the UN’s full political and practical weight behind a ceasefire and an inclusive political process. The UAE has previously denied supporting the RSF.
Diplomats in New York describe her as a capable manager, skilled negotiator and clear communicator. She spent more than a decade as the UAE’s UN ambassador and led its successful Security Council campaign.
An informal council poll this month put former Costa Rican Vice President, Rebeca Grynspan, narrowly ahead, but she and every other candidate drew at least two opposing votes from the permanent members. The next straw poll can come as soon as Friday.
