UK Reportedly Leans Toward Backing UAE's Lana Nusseibeh for UN Secretary-General
Sources close to the British government say London is inclined to support the Emirati diplomat's bid, though no final decision has been made and her candidacy is already contested.
By Leila Mori ·
The United Kingdom is leaning toward supporting Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh in the race to become the next United Nations secretary-general, according to a report by Middle East Eye. Numerous sources close to the British government said London, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has not yet made a final decision. The outlet said it approached the British Foreign Office for comment but had received no reply by the time of publication.
Nusseibeh's candidacy has stirred controversy because of the United Arab Emirates' alleged role in Sudan's civil war. The UAE is accused of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, whose mass killings UN investigators say bear the "hallmarks of genocide". The UAE denies the allegations. Her bid has also drawn criticism over the Gulf state's close ties with Israel.
The report comes amid a dispute in Britain involving Manchester City Football Club, which is owned by Emirati royal and vice-president Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan. Last month the club was found to have breached 114 Premier League financial rules by disguising more than £830m ($1.1bn) in illicit funding. The club denies the claims, and Emirati officials have reportedly threatened to cancel investments in Britain over "the Premier League's actions". Multiple sources said backing Nusseibeh could earn the UK some goodwill with the UAE while relations are strained.
If chosen, Nusseibeh, 48, would be the first woman to lead the UN and its second Arab secretary-general, after Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali. She entered the race last week, after six informal straw polls in which no candidate won the backing of the five veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, the US, Russia, China and France. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ends his term in December. The Security Council must agree on a candidate for approval by the 193-member General Assembly, but it is unclear whether that will happen before then.
Born in 1978, Nusseibeh worked as a Unesco consultant and an analyst at the Gulf Research Centre before becoming founding director of the UAE foreign ministry's policy planning department. In 2013 she became the UAE's first female permanent representative to the UN, serving until 2024. During that time she was a vice-president of the General Assembly, president of the UN Women executive board and twice president of the Security Council.
She is of Palestinian heritage, and her family comes from Jerusalem. Her grandfather, Anwar Nusseibeh, was a prominent Palestinian politician who held ministerial posts in Jordan's government when it controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and later served as Jordan's ambassador to Britain. Colin Shindler, an emeritus professor of Israeli studies at Soas who taught her, wrote in a 2020 Jewish Chronicle column that she completed a master's in Israeli studies and described her as "instrumental" in the Abraham Accords normalisation deal. In September 2025, as Israel weighed annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, she said the UAE had always viewed the accords as a way to support Palestinians and urged Israel to suspend its plans.
Launching her campaign last week, Nusseibeh said: "I am standing to be secretary-general because I believe this is a moment to act with greater urgency: to act earlier, bring people together across difference, and drive the work forward until it produces concrete results."
Sudan remains a central issue. On Monday, the UK announced sanctions on 15 senior commanders from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces for "suspected atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence". The move came a year after the RSF massacred civilians in Al Fasher. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said UK-funded investigations had shown that rape and starvation are still being weaponised against the Sudanese people, and that support from all external backers to the warring parties must end.
UN experts and rights groups have concluded in several reports that the RSF committed genocide and other international crimes against non-Arab communities in Darfur. Public evidence, including extensive reporting by Middle East Eye, links the UAE to the supply of arms and other goods to the RSF. The Emirati government, including Nusseibeh, has repeatedly denied this.
Source: Middle East Eye
