Who is the UAE's candidate, Nusseibeh?

Nusseibeh's candidacy has emerged despite controversy over the UAE's role in Sudan's civil war. The UAE is accused of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

UN investigators have said the RSF's indiscriminate killings bear "clear hallmarks of genocide." The UAE denies the allegations.

Nusseibeh's candidacy has also drawn criticism because of the UAE's close ties with Israel.

Several sources close to the UK government told Middle East Eye that the UK, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is moving toward a decision to back Nusseibeh for Secretary-General. However, the country has not yet made a final decision.

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson told Middle East Eye: "The UK's main priority is to find the candidate best suited to lead the UN in tackling our global crises."

The spokesperson said: "We are looking at the candidates' merits to choose the most qualified person as the next UN Secretary-General. We will not comment publicly on any particular candidate."

After the major controversy surrounding Manchester City Football Club, UK support for Nusseibeh could be seen as an attempt to strengthen Prime Minister Andy Burnham's relationship with Abu Dhabi.

Manchester City's owner is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the UAE royal family and Vice President.

An investigation last month found that the club had concealed more than £83 million ($110 million) in illegal funding and breached 114 Premier League financial rules.

Manchester City denies the allegations. According to reports, UAE officials have threatened to cancel investments in the UK because of "these Premier League actions."

According to several sources, if the UK backs Nusseibeh as UN Secretary-General amid this strain in UK–UAE relations, it could help build some goodwill with the Middle Eastern country.

If elected, 48-year-old Nusseibeh would become the UN's first female Secretary-General and the second Arab Secretary-General after Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Six informal straw polls were held before Nusseibeh joined the race last week. In none of them were the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council (the UK, the US, Russia, China and France) able to agree jointly on a candidate.

Current Secretary-General António Guterres's term ends in December. The Security Council must nominate a candidate for approval by the 193-member General Assembly. It is still unclear whether the Council will be able to reach a decision before then.

Born in 1978, Nusseibeh worked as a UNESCO consultant and as a researcher at the Gulf Research Center. She later became the founding director of the policy planning department at the UAE Foreign Ministry.

In 2013, Nusseibeh was appointed the UAE's first female permanent representative to the UN, serving until 2024. During this time she served as a Vice President of the General Assembly, President of the UN Women Executive Board, and twice as President of the Security Council.

Nusseibeh is of Palestinian descent, and her family are residents of Jerusalem. Her grandfather, Anwar Nusseibeh, was a prominent Palestinian politician. While the Jordanian government controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem, he held various ministerial posts and also served as Jordan's ambassador to the UK.

Nusseibeh studied at the UK's SOAS University. At that time, Emeritus Professor of Israel Studies Colin Shindler was her teacher. Shindler wrote in a 2020 Jewish Chronicle column that Nusseibeh had completed a postgraduate degree in Israel studies.

Shindler noted that Nusseibeh wrote "excellent and nuanced essays on Zionism and the history of Israel," and described her as a "highly important catalyst" in the normalization agreements known as the Abraham Accords.

In September 2025, when Israel was considering annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, Nusseibeh said the UAE had always viewed these agreements as a means of supporting Palestinians. She called on the Israeli government to put its plan on hold.

In the statement launching her campaign last week, Nusseibeh said: "I am running for Secretary-General because I believe it is time to act urgently. We must act earlier, bring people together under one umbrella despite their differences, and keep working until we achieve effective results."

The UK has announced sanctions on 15 senior commanders of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), who are accused of involvement in "sexual violence and other atrocities."

The move comes one year after the RSF's indiscriminate killings of civilians in El Fasher, Sudan. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: "One year after the atrocities in El Fasher, a UK-funded investigation has found that rape and starvation are still being used as weapons against the people of Sudan."

Miliband said: "These are crimes against humanity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable. Any country openly supporting the warring parties must stop providing that support."

UN experts and human rights groups have stated in multiple credible reports that the RSF has committed crimes including ethnic cleansing against non-Arab communities in Darfur.

Various pieces of evidence indicate that the UAE has been supplying arms and other materiel to the RSF. The UAE government and Nusseibeh have repeatedly denied this allegation.