The Emirati diplomat’s entry into the race raises questions about Washington’s support, the UAE’s foreign policy and Latin America’s claim to the UN’s top job.
Long rumored as a potential candidate to lead the United Nations, Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh has finally thrown her hat in the ring at the eleventh hour.
The 47-year-old candidate is considered highly capable by several diplomats who spoke to Envoy. However, her country’s human rights record raises concerns for some.
“Nusseibeh is extremely intelligent,” Adil Haque, a professor of Law at Rutgers University, wrote on X, “She also currently works for a State that has spent the last few years supplying arms to the RSF in Sudan as they’ve massacred civilians.”
Nusseibeh, who currently serves as Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates, is a graduate of Cambridge and the University of London. She led the UAE’s term on the Security Council in 2022-2023. While several diplomats praised her diplomatic skills at the time, others expressed frustration about her country’s transactional approach to international relations, which, at times, came at the expense of human rights.
Her candidacy brings the current field to seven hopefuls, after Senegal’s Macky Sall dropped out of the race a few days ago. On October 16, the sixth round of straw poll, which was color-coded, revealed that every candidate in the race received at least two discourage from permanent, veto-holders, members of the Security Council, leaving the door open for more candidates to jump in.
According to one diplomat whose country currently sits on the Security Council: “The final decision will not be decided on moral basis,” the diplomat said. “But it’ll be based on realpolitik and national interests.”
Her candidacy, however, brings a completely different dimension to the race.
One of the reasons Nusseibeh waited so long to announce her candidacy, according to one diplomat who spoke to Envoy, is her Palestinian ancestry. Nusseibeh’s father, Zaki Nusseibeh, comes from a prominent Palestinian family with roots in Jerusalem. One diplomat expressed concerns that the current administration in Washington may not go along with such a candidate.
“Israel, and Netanyahu more so, most of the time tries to depict SG as being against it, having Lana would give them even a bigger excuse to reject the UN,” the diplomat said.
The UAE became signatories of the Abraham Accords in 2020, and has maintained good relationships with the United States and Israel since.
With Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica, who is of Jewish descent, currently leading the race, Nusseibeh’s entry introduces another sensitive political dimension: two candidates with Jewish and Palestinian ancestry competing for the world’s top diplomatic post at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to divide the international community.
The UAE’s candidacy also challenges the issue of regional rotation, as several people want a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean to lead the UN next. The last time around, someone from Eastern Europe was supposed to be selected, but Guterres, who is from Portugal, got the job.
“I have no doubts of Lana’s excellent diplomatic skills,” Jose Singer, a former ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the UN, told Envoy. “But having said that I hope the rest of the countries understand it is our region’s turn to have an SG.”
The three leading candidates in the race, Rebeca Grynspan, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Rafael Grossi are all from that region, respectively from Costa Rica, Guyana, and Argentina.
“We have excellent candidates in Rebeca or Grossi that are even overqualified for the position,” Singer added. “I really hope it is our region’s turn and not get stabbed in the back.”
The viability of Nusseibeh’s candidacy will be tested soon, as another round of straw poll is scheduled for either Friday or early next week.
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