Emirati diplomat enters UN secretary-general race

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 17:28 · Archive

The United Arab Emirates has nominated Lana Nusseibeh, its former UN ambassador, as a candidate to become the next UN secretary-general.

The United Arab Emirates has nominated Lana Nusseibeh, the country's minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former ambassador to the UN, to be the next UN secretary-general. She is the seventh candidate in the race and could become the organisation's first female chief in its more than 80-year history.

The other candidates include former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, who currently holds a narrow lead according to an informal straw poll of UN Security Council members last week. Also in contention are Guyana's former Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Argentina's International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi, former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former Senegalese President Macky Sall, former UN Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu of Uganda, and Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki. The winner needs at least nine votes from the 15-member Security Council without opposition from any of the five permanent members—the US, the UK, France, China and Russia—by the end of December.

Human rights defenders have raised alarm over Nusseibeh's candidacy, citing the UAE's questionable human rights record and allegations that the country has backed forces behind a massacre in Sudan. Observers warn that electing a diplomat from the UAE could spell 'catastrophe' for the UN's credibility on human rights issues.

How it is being reported

• UN chief race enters decisive phase as new contender arrivesUAE’s star diplomat Lana Nusseibeh has entered the race for the UN secretary-general position, challenging front-runner Rebeca Grynspan at a decisive time for the global organisation's future. The UN chief race could now lead to the first ever female secretary-general.Euronews · 23 Oct, 17:12
• Emirati diplomat could become next UN chief despite human rights concernsHuman rights defenders are sounding the alarm over the United Arab Emirates’ nomination of its former envoy Lana Nusseibeh to be the next UN Secretary General. They say electing a diplomat from the UAE, a country with a questionable human rights record that is accused of backing forces behind a massacre in Sudan, could spell “catastrophe” for the UN.France 24 · 22 Oct, 22:18

In this story: Lana Nusseibeh · United Arab Emirates · United Nations · Rebeca Grynspan · Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett · Rafael Grossi

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