Reported by The Guardian
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.
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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…