A diplomat from the United Arab Emirates, Lana Nusseibeh, has entered the race to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, making her the first woman to vie for the position in the organization’s 80-year history. Nusseibeh, whose candidacy was announced this week, brings both Palestinian roots and a background emphasizing the UAE’s diplomatic relations, including its historic normalization of ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
Nusseibeh holds a master’s degree in Israeli and Jewish Diaspora Studies and has served as the UAE’s ambassador to the U.N. from 2013 until 2024. During her tenure, she focused on issues such as humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, advancing women’s roles internationally, and promoting peaceful conflict resolution. Her candidacy has received unanimous support from the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The UAE diplomat aims to revitalize trust in the United Nations and advocates for the use of “quiet diplomacy” to de-escalate global conflicts. She has also called for international cooperation on emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence governance, suggesting voluntary incident reporting to prevent the hardening of technological divides.
Nusseibeh’s family ties to the Palestinian territories run deep, with her uncle Sari Nusseibeh a noted Palestinian scholar. She has been active in efforts to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, with the UAE now recognized as one of the largest global providers of assistance to the territory, underscoring her role in navigating complex diplomatic channels.
However, her candidacy has encountered significant scrutiny over the UAE’s alleged involvement in the ongoing civil war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023. Various U.N. bodies and rights groups have documented support from the UAE to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of perpetrating atrocities during the conflict. Notably, the RSF’s October 2025 attack on the city of el-Fasher resulted in at least 6,000 deaths, prompting the United Nations to suggest the massacre may bear “the hallmarks of genocide.”
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University, has stated that evidence points to the UAE supplying drones, mercenaries to operate these drones, artillery, and mortars to the RSF, which were used during the assault and siege of el-Fasher. The UAE government has denied these allegations.
Nusseibeh is expected to face questions from U.N. General Assembly members as part of the candidacy vetting process. She would assume leadership of an institution currently grappling with criticism over funding cuts and challenges to its international influence amid rising geopolitical tensions, growing humanitarian crises, and global health threats. The contest to succeed outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in January remains competitive, with Nusseibeh’s entry injecting new momentum into the proceedings.