By Dr. Nidal Shoukeir
Professor of Strategic Communications and Governmental Relations
At a time when conflicts are spreading, prospects for political settlements are diminishing, and the international order faces mounting challenges, attention is turning to New York as the world awaits the selection of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. The question is no longer simply who will lead an international organisation, but what the future of diplomacy will look like, and whether the world can restore dialogue, contain crises, and build sustainable pathways to peace.
The emergence of multiple candidates for this prestigious position was hardly surprising. What has attracted particular attention, however, is the United Arab Emirates entry into the race through its nomination of Lana Zaki Nusseibeh. Her candidacy has quickly drawn interest, reflecting not only her extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and first-hand knowledge of the United Nations and the Security Council, but also the UAE s growing international and regional presence.
The next Secretary-General s greatest challenge will not be to describe global crises or reiterate calls for peace. Rather, it will be to restore confidence in the value of multilateral action, strengthen the UN s capacity to prevent escalation and protect civilians, and translate diplomatic agreements into tangible results. Against this backdrop, four key considerations help explain the significance of the UAE’s nomination of Lana Nusseibeh.
Link to Diplomatic Experience from Within the United NationsDiplomatic Experience from Within the United Nations
Lana Nusseibeh is not entering this race as an outsider to the international system. She comes from within it. Having served as the UAE s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2013 to 2024, she has been directly involved in discussions and negotiations on peace and security, humanitarian affairs, and some of the most complex issues on the international agenda.
This is far more than an impressive professional credential. It is an essential asset for understanding the nature of the Secretary-General s role. The Secretary-General does not operate in a vacuum, nor does the office possess the authority to impose solutions on member states. Success requires an understanding of when to act, how to build consensus, and where diplomacy can create opportunities for progress when political doors appear firmly closed.
What distinguishes Nusseibeh, therefore, is the combination of practical experience within the United Nations, a nuanced understanding of the political dynamics shaping its decisions, and familiarity with the challenges of translating its principles into meaningful outcomes. At a time when confidence in multilateral institutions is increasingly under strain, this institutional knowledge represents a valuable asset on which the organisation can build.
Link to The UAE s Diplomatic Approach: From Dialogue to Delivery The UAE s Diplomatic Approach: From Dialogue to Delivery
The significance of Lana Nusseibeh candidacy extends beyond her individual diplomatic record. It also reflects the UAE s broader diplomatic experience, which has been characterised by expanding partnerships, managing competing interests, and identifying practical areas of common ground, even on the most sensitive international issues.
This approach was particularly evident during the UAE s membership of the UN Security Council for the 2022 2023 term, especially in the diplomatic efforts that led to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2720 in December 2023, addressing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. The resolution was by no means a solution to the crisis. Nevertheless, it represented an effort to translate diplomatic engagement into a practical mechanism for responding to urgent humanitarian needs under exceptionally difficult circumstances. Nusseibeh was part of the UAE s diplomatic efforts surrounding this initiative.
This is where the UAE dimension of her candidacy becomes particularly relevant. It represents a diplomatic approach that goes beyond statements of principle towards building partnerships, opening channels of communication, and pursuing achievable outcomes on the ground. Its strength lies in the ability to combine political realism with an ambition to deliver tangible results, without abandoning dialogue or the principles of collective action.
This does not mean that a country s diplomatic model can, or should, simply be transferred to the United Nations. The organization is far broader than any individual state and operates within a much more complex international environment. The real opportunity, however, lies in Nusseibeh’s ability to draw on the experience she has accumulated through UAE diplomacy and apply its most constructive elements at the international level. Such an approach could provide the organisation with the renewed momentum and positive direction it needs to restore the confidence of both governments and people in its ability to act.
What the United Nations needs today is not more promises, but a renewed commitment to consensus-building and collective action. In this respect, the UAE s diplomatic approach, as represented by Lana Nusseibeh, could offer a valuable contribution: a combination of determination, pragmatism, and optimism at a time when international cooperation is facing a serious test of credibility and effectiveness.
Link to A Woman from a Region That Knows the Cost of War A Woman from a Region That Knows the Cost of War
Nusseibeh’s candidacy also carries an important historical and humanitarian dimension. It raises the possibility of a woman becoming Secretary-General of the United Nations for the first time, while bringing leadership from a region whose people have endured decades of conflict and its devastating humanitarian consequences. The significance of this prospect goes beyond symbolism. It would represent an important step towards broadening participation and representation at the highest level of international leadership.
Moreover, Nusseibeh s diplomatic experience, together with her tenure as President of the Executive Board of UN Women in 2017, adds a substantive professional dimension to this historic possibility, particularly in relation to women s participation and leadership in international affairs. The Middle East does not need leaders who merely describe its tragedies. It needs effective international action that alleviates the suffering of its people and creates more stable political prospects for the future.
Nusseibeh s candidacy could therefore offer an opportunity to bring together diplomatic expertise, a humanitarian perspective, and greater female representation at a time when the world urgently needs more effective responses to civilian suffering, renewed efforts to prevent conflict, and stronger foundations for peace.
Link to From Crisis Management to the Capacity for Change From Crisis Management to the Capacity for Change
The central challenge facing the United Nations today is not a shortage of calls for peace. It is the widening gap between resolutions and results, between political agreements and what is actually achieved on the ground. Every delay in taking action can mean more lives lost, while every agreement that remains unimplemented further undermines confidence in the possibility of reaching future settlements.
This is precisely why the organisation needs leadership capable of acting early, making effective use of communication and mediation channels, keeping dialogue open, and connecting political decisions to practical and achievable steps. This is no easy task, particularly amid divisions within the Security Council and competing interests among major powers.
Yet it remains at the very heart of the Secretary-General’s responsibilities. Nusseibeh captures this vision of the United Nations in a particularly compelling statement: The United Nations was not built to agree with the world, but to help the world agree. This perspective is a reminder that the organisation’s role is not simply to reflect international disagreements, but to identify the common ground that can help overcome them.
Nusseibeh has also emphasized the importance of a Secretary-General who speaks candidly with all governments while remaining beholden to none. Such independence is not merely a political slogan; it is a fundamental condition for building trust. This is particularly important when mediation requires engaging different parties with clarity, impartiality, and a willingness to work with all sides without favouritism.
Of course, no Secretary-General can reform the international system single-handedly. Success will ultimately depend on the political will of member states. Nevertheless, effective leadership can make a difference by acting early, setting clear priorities, deploying the tools of diplomacy and mediation, and keeping avenues for peaceful solutions open.
The case for Nusseibeh, therefore, is a case for flexible, experienced diplomacy that can help make the United Nations more proactive and effective, while narrowing the gap between its decisions and the tangible results people expect.
Link to Leadership That Restores Meaning to Diplomacy Leadership That Restores Meaning to Diplomacy
Ultimately, the question is not whether Lana Nusseibeh possesses the diplomatic credentials to compete for the position of UN Secretary-General. Her professional record provides a serious foundation for her candidacy. The more important question is whether she can transform that experience into independent and effective leadership: leadership that reconnects the international organisation with the aspirations of people around the world, strengthens diplomacy’s capacity to prevent conflict, and opens new pathways towards peace.
Her candidacy offers an opportunity to consider a modern model of international leadership, one that combines multilateral experience, the ability to build consensus, and the conviction that meaningful change can sometimes begin with small but practical steps.
The United Nations needs leadership that restores meaning to international cooperation; leadership that makes dialogue a pathway to understanding, understanding a foundation for solutions, and solutions the beginning of change that people can actually feel in their daily lives, their security, and their dignity.
This, in my view, is what makes the candidacy of the UAE s Lana Zaki Nusseibeh particularly noteworthy: the combination of diplomatic experience and the UAE’s distinctive diplomatic approach, together with the hope of renewing international cooperation and the ambition to provide leadership that restores meaning to diplomacy.
At a time when the world needs more than voices that describe its crises, it needs leaders capable of opening the way towards resolving them.
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