UAE Minister Lana Nusseibeh announces candidacy for UN Secretary-General

The announcement comes after the Security Council’s latest straw poll on 16 October, a step in the process to choose a successor to António Guterres, whose second term ends on 31 December 2026.

In launching her campaign, Nusseibeh said: “I have spent much of my professional life working in and around the United Nations, and I have seen first-hand what determined diplomacy can achieve – countries with profound differences finding common ground, and agreement where people said agreement was impossible. But I have also seen the cost when diplomacy falls short. When the distance between what we promise and what we deliver grows, trust erodes, and so does our ability to act. 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. That is how we rebuild trust in the United Nations and ensure it delivers meaningful change for the people it exists to serve.”

Nusseibeh has taken a leave of absence from her government post to concentrate on her bid. “I wish to offer myself to this office as I would serve it: speaking frankly with every government and answering to none,” she added.

Peace and Security at the Core

Her vision document places peace and security at the heart of her platform. It argues that the UN must become more proactive in preventing conflicts, preserving diplomatic channels, and helping divided parties find practical areas of agreement.

In addition to peace and security, Nusseibeh outlines reforms to make the organisation more effective across its three pillars: peace and security, development, and human rights. She calls for clearer priorities, leadership and resources closer to the problems, stronger accountability, less duplication, and empowered field staff.

She emphasises the use of quiet diplomacy to prevent disputes from escalating and to pursue practical agreements that alleviate suffering now while creating space for broader political settlements. Her statement prioritises achievable “first agreements” such as humanitarian access, prisoner exchanges, and local truces, supported by persistent diplomacy and verification.

The document also centres “first actors” – those closest to conflicts, regional organisations, and trusted mediators. Nusseibeh argues the UN does not need to lead every process but should work with those best placed to make progress and be present where it can add value.

Her approach is about purposeful bridge-building: finding common ground across geopolitical divides not just to sustain dialogue but to produce agreements, secure access, reduce violence, or create conditions for broader peace.

Reform and Development

Nusseibeh contends that stronger diplomacy requires a capable organisation. Her reform agenda focuses on making the UN faster, more focused, and more accountable to deliver on peace and security, development, and human rights. She proposes that every major Secretariat programme report its achievements against costs, address duplication, and move leadership and resources closer to where they can make the most difference.

She would also give officials clearer purpose, empower field personnel, reward results, and build a senior team chosen for excellence that reflects the world and the UN’s principles. A more focused UN, she argues, should do less where others can deliver and more where only it can.

On development, Nusseibeh says the UN system must adapt to a world where progress on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals is deeply uneven, especially in conflict-affected and fragile states. While aid remains essential, the UN should also help countries pursue nationally determined priorities and build durable prosperity.

Her programme would focus development cooperation on national priorities, put jobs at the centre, expand opportunities in fragile settings, address risk mispricing, champion fairer debt solutions, and build new partnerships with philanthropy and the private sector. As member states prepare to negotiate the successor to the 2030 Goals, she would use the Secretary-General’s convening role to forge commitments that governments can explain to citizens and that the world can keep.

She states that human rights, peace, and development are mutually reinforcing, and the UN’s credibility in upholding human rights depends on applying the Charter, international law, and universal rights consistently and without double standards.

On artificial intelligence and biotechnology, she proposes using the UN to build practical international cooperation before divisions harden, including voluntary incident reporting and broader participation by countries that experience these technologies but do not develop them. She also calls for the UN to help member states anticipate climate change effects and strengthen resilience where fragility is greatest.

Background and Experience

Nusseibeh served as the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN from 2013 to 2024, covering the UAE’s elected term on the Security Council in 2022–2023, during which she presided over the Council twice. She has also been a Vice-President of the General Assembly, President of the UN Women Executive Board, and worked on General Assembly revitalisation and Security Council reform.

Her UN work has spanned peace and security, humanitarian diplomacy, sustainable development, women’s issues, human rights, and multilateral reform.

Her full vision statement, titled “A United Nations for the Next Eighty Years”, is available at www.lananusseibeh.org.