Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibeh said Sudan's Rapid Support Forces should be held accountable for “atrocities” committed during the civil war, as she vowed to make the conflict a priority if she is elected UN secretary general.
Ms Nusseibeh said she would support the work of UN-appointed investigators in Sudan, where both the RSF and the rival Sudanese Armed Forces stand accused of grave wrongdoing during the war.
She was responding to a report by Politico that Sudan's army-backed government opposes her bid to lead the UN due to alleged Emirati support for the RSF, which the UAE denies.
“I have been clear that the atrocities committed by the RSF must be subject to accountability, and that I would support the work of UN fact-finding mechanisms,” she told the news website.
“Sudan would be a priority for me as secretary general,” she added in a post on X. “The fighting must stop. Civilians and humanitarian workers must be protected. RSF atrocities require accountability. Sudanese people’s democratic aspirations must guide a political process.”
She called for a “credible political process” in Sudan, where the civil war has raged since April 2023. The outbreak of war followed a power struggle between SAF and the RSF over restoring civilian rule, after a military coup in 2021.
Recent UN reports say drone strikes by the RSF have killed civilians and destroyed homes and shelters. Investigators say the SAF have meanwhile stepped up surveillance and arrests, and put people at risk by deploying in residential areas.
The US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been leading efforts to secure a ceasefire. Ms Nusseibeh has been part of those talks as UAE ambassador to the UN, a position from which she has taken a leave of absence to campaign for the secretary general's post.
Ms Nusseibeh joined the UN race last month after no clear front-runner emerged among eight other candidates. Her campaign has gathered support from Gulf countries and others.
She has called for generational change and pledged to reform the UN with “clearer priorities” if she is elected. She would be the first woman to lead the UN and the second Arab after Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Appointed the UAE's ambassador to the UN in 2013, she previously held several positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
