Members of the Sudanese diaspora and international human rights monitors have opposed the United Arab Emirates' nomination of Lana Nusseibeh for UN Secretary-General, citing her denials of accusations that the UAE is fueling Sudan's war by supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UAE nominated Nusseibeh last week to replace António Guterres, whose second five-year term ends this year. The nomination has upended a gridlocked race for the top UN position.
Rights groups have documented evidence of UAE support for the RSF for years. The RSF has faced accusations of committing atrocities during its conflict with the Sudanese army, including an October 2025 attack on El Fasher that the United Nations described as bearing the "hallmarks of genocide."
Nusseibeh, who served as the UAE's UN representative until 2024, has consistently denied the accusations. 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, said Nusseibeh "had no track record of acting independently of her country's role in Sudan." Al-Karib added that Security Council endorsement would amount to "essentially a denial of the genocidal acts committed in El Fasher by the RSF."
At a Tuesday briefing by the Avaaz human rights advocacy group, Ibrahim Alduma, co-founder of the Sudan Action Hub, said Nusseibeh's success would erode public trust in the UN. Alduma, who grew up in El Fasher, questioned how Sudanese and other war victims could trust the UN to deliver justice under her leadership.
Husam Mahjoub, a Sudanese advocate and co-founder of the independent media outlet 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." Mahjoub emphasized that Sudanese civilians need the UN to hold powerful states accountable.
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said Nusseibeh "blatantly denies it without regard to the facts" when asked about the UAE's role in arming and supporting the RSF.
On Wednesday, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch, said Nusseibeh's dismissal of UN reports detailing the UAE's links to the RSF "seriously undermined justice and accountability for the victims."
Nusseibeh issued a statement Tuesday saying that if elected, she would support various UN initiatives, though she did not detail their scope.
