UAE's Lana Nusseibeh says she would take political risks to secure peace

UAE's Lana Nusseibeh has called for major UN reforms and pledged to take diplomatic risks to secure peace if appointed as the next secretary general. Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, Nusseibeh stated that the UN must scale back some activities, rethink spending, and focus on delivering results, as development assistance from the past three decades is not returning as expected. She emphasized that the UN I would lead would be judged by what each country can achieve, not by how much the system spends.

Nusseibeh, who has taken a leave of absence from her role as a minister in the Emirati government, argued that the UN should recognize its limitations and withdraw from areas where other institutions are better equipped to act. She warned that the UN cannot do everything and that attempting to do so would dilute its core functions.

Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nusseibeh pledged to support a two-state solution in line with international law and UN resolutions, drawing on her experience negotiating Security Council resolutions on Gaza and Afghanistan. She emphasized her commitment to pursuing progress on implementing relevant UN resolutions, such as Security Council resolution 2803, which established a Board of Peace and authorized a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza.

Nusseibeh also addressed the challenges facing the next UN chief beyond traditional war and peace issues, such as artificial intelligence, youth unemployment, and climate change. She stressed the importance of preventing conflicts before they escalate and engaging early on, drawing on her experience in conflict resolution.