International human rights monitors and members of the Sudanese diaspora have denounced the candidacy of Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh for UN secretary-general, citing her repeated denials of accusations that the United Arab Emirates fuels the war in Sudan through support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UAE nominated Nusseibeh last week to succeed António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends this year. Her nomination has injected momentum into a race that had previously stalled.
Human rights organizations have documented evidence of the UAE providing support to the RSF, which faces accusations of committing atrocities during its conflict with the Sudanese army. Those alleged atrocities include an October 2025 attack on El Fasher that the UN described as bearing the "hallmarks of genocide."
Nusseibeh, who served as the UAE's UN representative until 2024, has consistently echoed her government's blanket denials of involvement in Sudan.
Hala al-Karib, a Sudanese pro-democracy and women's rights activist and regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa, voiced strong opposition. "She has no track record of acting independently of her country's role in Sudan," al-Karib said. She added that Security Council endorsement of Nusseibeh would effectively amount to "a denial of the genocidal acts committed in El Fasher by the RSF."
Ibrahim Alduma, co-founder of the human rights organization Sudan Action Hub and a native of El Fasher, spoke during a virtual briefing Tuesday hosted by the advocacy group Avaaz. He warned that Nusseibeh's election would erode public 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?" Alduma said. "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 the independent media outlet Sudan Bukra TV, said that "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, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, told the briefing that Nusseibeh has "blatantly denied" the UAE's role in arming and supporting the RSF "without regard to the facts." He said this approach is incompatible with the role of UN secretary-general.
Bruno Stagno Ugarte, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch, said Wednesday that Nusseibeh's dismissal of UN reports detailing the UAE's links to the RSF had "seriously undermined justice and accountability for the victims."
