Sudanese diaspora and human rights groups denounce UAE nominee for UN top job

Critics cite Lana Nusseibeh’s denial of accusations the UAE is fuelling Sudan war by supporting paramilitary RSF

Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have denounced the candidature of an Emirati diplomat for the top job at the UN, citing her denial of accusations that the United Arab Emirates is fuelling the war in Sudan by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The UAE nominated Lana Nusseibeh last week to replace the UN secretary general, António Guterres, as he finishes his second five-year term ⁠this year, upending a race that had become gridlocked.

Rights groups and others have for years documented evidence of UAE support for the RSF, which has been accused of atrocities during the course of its war against the Sudanese army, including an attack on the city of El Fasher in October 2025 that the UN said had “hallmarks of genocide”.

Nusseibeh, the UAE’s representative to the UN until 2024, has repeatedly reflected the UAE’s blanket denials of the accusations.

The Sudanese pro-democracy and women’s rights activist Hala al-Karib, the regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, said Nusseibeh had “no track record of acting independently of her country’s role in Sudan” and that endorsement by the security council would amount “essentially [to] a denial of the genocidal acts committed in El Fasher by the RSF”.

There was also strong criticism of Nusseibeh’s candidature at a virtual briefing by the Avaaz human rights advocacy group on Tuesday.

Ibrahim Alduma, who grew up in El Fasher and is the co-founder of the human rights organisation Sudan Action Hub, told the briefing that success for Nusseibeh would result in people losing faith in the UN.

“If this candidate [succeeds], how would we tell people on the ground that the United Nations is not an obstruction of the [rights of] the people of Sudan?” said Alduma. “How could the people – not only in Sudan, but other victims of wars and international criminals – trust that the UN will achieve some kind of justice?”

Husam Mahjoub, a Sudanese advocate and co-founder of independent media Sudan Bukra TV, said: “Electing [the UAE’s] senior diplomat as secretary general would hand leadership of (UN) institutions to that government’s chief defender, at the very moment Sudanese civilians most need the ‌UN to hold powerful states accountable.”

Kenneth Roth, a former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told the briefing: “She has been asked about the UAE’s role in arming and supporting the RSF, and she just blatantly denies it without regard to the facts. That is not what we need as UN secretary-general.”

On Wednesday, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, the chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch, said Nusseibeh’s dismissal of UN reports documenting the UAE’s links to the RSF had “seriously undermined justice and accountability for the victims”.

She added that she had taken a leave of absence from her ministerial post in the UAE government to be “mindful of the obligations of independence” the UN role would entail, adding that “the horrific conflict in Sudan will be the litmus test of the success of an incoming secretary general”.

To become the next UN security general, a candidate must secure a minimum of nine affirmative votes out of the 15 security council members, and avoid a veto from the US, the UK, China, France or Russia, its permanent members.

An ​informal security council poll earlier his month had ‌placed the former Costa Rican vice-president ​Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner in ​the race. But she and all other candidates received two or more opposing votes from the permanent council members. The next straw poll could take place as soon as Friday, but the format and exact timing are still being negotiated by the diplomats.

At Tuesday’s briefing, Roth said: “It’s fair to say the RSF would not have been able to be nearly as successful militarily as it was and has been without that support from the UAE. And with that support, it didn’t just fight the Sudan armed forces. This wasn’t just a civil war. It committed mass atrocities.”

He added: “It amazes me that she’s being put forward. This is a completely unsuitable candidate.”

Kate Ferguson, co-founder and co-executive director of Protection Approaches, a charity working to prevent identity-based violence, said at the briefing: “There is not, as far as I have seen, sufficient evidence that this candidate is independent from the state from which she comes. And we must not be naive nor hide behind the pretence of naivety.

“This is autocratic capture of our most significant multilateral institution.”