UK Weighs Backing Nusseibeh for UN Post

British policymakers are moving toward supporting Lana Nusseibeh, the Emirati diplomat, for the position of United Nations secretary-general. Multiple sources close to the government indicated on Sunday that London is leaning in her direction, though a final decision has not been made. The British Foreign Office did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

The potential endorsement occurs while relations between the two nations remain strained. Last month, Manchester City Football Club, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was found to have breached 114 Premier League financial rules. The club disguised more than £830m in illicit funding, a figure equivalent to $1.1bn. While the club denies the claims, Emirati officials have reportedly threatened to cancel investments in Britain in response to the league's actions. Sources suggest that backing Nusseibeh could secure goodwill from Abu Dhabi during this friction.

Nusseibeh’s candidacy has faced scrutiny over the UAE’s involvement in Sudan’s civil war. The country is accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces, whose mass killings UN investigators say bear the hallmarks of genocide. The UAE denies these allegations. On Monday, the UK announced sanctions against 15 senior commanders from both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that UK-funded investigations showed rape and starvation were still being weaponised in the region.

The 48-year-old diplomat would be the first woman to lead the United Nations and the second Arab to hold the role. Her entry into the race last week followed six informal straw polls in which no candidate secured the backing of the five permanent Security Council members. Current secretary-general Antonio Guterres ends his term in December. It remains unclear if the council will agree on a candidate for the 193-member General Assembly to approve before that date.

Nusseibeh served as the UAE’s first female permanent representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024. She previously worked as a Unesco consultant and founded the UAE foreign ministry's policy planning department. She is of Palestinian heritage, and her grandfather, Anwar Nusseibeh, held ministerial posts in Jordan's government. Colin Shindler, an emeritus professor at Soas who taught her, noted in a 2020 column that she completed a master's in Israeli studies and was instrumental in the Abraham Accords.

In a statement launching her campaign last week, Nusseibeh said she is standing because she believes it is a moment to act with greater urgency. She pledged to bring people together across difference and drive the work forward until it produces concrete results. In September 2025, she urged the Israeli government to suspend plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, arguing the UAE had always viewed the accords as a way to support Palestinians.