Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Sudan atrocities cast shadow over UAE diplomat's bid to lead the UN

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Sudan atrocities cast shadow over UAE diplomat's bid to lead the UN · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: After 10 years, Antonio Guterres will leave his post as
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  Speaker 1: Secretary General of the UN at the end of the year.
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  Speaker 1: With little more than two months to go, it's unclear
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  Speaker 1: who will succeed him in the post. Now, a controversial
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  Speaker 1: new contender has thrown her hat in the ring. Lana
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  Speaker 1: Nusebe is a senior Emirati diplomat, and she's been attracting
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  Speaker 1: support among member states despite serious allegations about her country's
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  Speaker 1: human rights record and its role in Sudan's civil war.
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  Speaker 1: The 48-year-old served as the UAE's ambassador to the United
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  Speaker 1: Nations for over a decade and has promised to restore
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  Speaker 1: the organization's credibility and make it a more effective force
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  Speaker 1: for peace.
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  Speaker 2: I will bring greater urgency to the work for peace.
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  Speaker 2: I will help countries gain greater agency over their own development.
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  Speaker 2: And I will focus this organization on the most urgent needs,
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  Speaker 2: on what it must do and on what only it
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  Speaker 2: can do.
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  Speaker 1: But international human rights monitors have raised concerns over her bid,
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  Speaker 1: citing allegations that the UAE has been supplying weapons and
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  Speaker 1: other support to Sudan's rapid support forces.
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  Speaker 3: The paramilitary group.
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  Speaker 1: Has been accused of ethnic cleansing, mass killings and widespread
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  Speaker 1: sexual violence. The UAE denies supporting the RSF and Nusaybeh
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  Speaker 1: has defended her government's position.
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  Speaker 3: Now, her candidacy comes as the U.N.
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  Speaker 1: Security Council struggles to agree on a successor to Antonia Guterres.
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  Speaker 1: All the previous contenders have faced opposition from at least
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  Speaker 1: two of the five permanent members.
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  Speaker 3: That's the U.S., China, Russia, France, and the U.K.
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  Speaker 1: Nusebe already has the backing of Gulf states, and if elected,
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  Speaker 1: she would become the first woman to lead the United Nations.
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  Speaker 3: The allegations against the.
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  Speaker 1: UAE are particularly troubling given the scale of the atrocities
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  Speaker 1: in Sudan, especially in and around al-Fasher. A UN fact-finding
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  Speaker 1: mission called it an organized operation that bears the defining
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  Speaker 1: characteristics of genocide. These satellite images were analyzed by researchers
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  Speaker 1: at Yale University who have been documenting evidence of mass
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  Speaker 1: killings and other atrocities committed by the rapid support forces.
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  Speaker 1: One of the people leading that investigation is Nathaniel Raymond,
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  Speaker 1: executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the School
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  Speaker 1: of Science.
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  Speaker 3: Of public health.
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  Speaker 1: And I spoke to him earlier, asking him if a
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  Speaker 1: longtime representative of a country accused of fueling what's currently
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  Speaker 1: the world's worst humanitarian crisis could credibly lead an organization
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  Speaker 1: dedicated to peace and human rights. No.
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  Speaker 4: If Lana Nusebe is elected, it would be worse than
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  Speaker 4: the hen guarding the, sorry, the fox guarding the hen house.
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  Speaker 4: It would be the fox becoming the local poultry inspector.
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  Speaker 3: Let's look at.
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  Speaker 1: The situation in Sudan because you've done extensive research with
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  Speaker 1: your team at Yale. You've been documenting atrocities in Sudan
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  Speaker 1: using satellite imagery. What have you actually been able to
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  Speaker 1: uncover there?
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  Speaker 4: What we've been able to uncover is that the rapid
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  Speaker 4: support forces, which is credibly accused by the United Nations
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  Speaker 4: of engaging in a genocide in the city of al-Fasher
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  Speaker 4: almost exactly a year ago today, was able to kill
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  Speaker 4: tens of thousands of civilians only with the military assistance
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  Speaker 4: provided by the United Arab Emirates. And that's not just
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  Speaker 4: our research. It's the finding of the U.S. intelligence community,
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  Speaker 4: as reported last year by the Wall Street Journal. From
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  Speaker 4: drones to mercenaries to advanced weapons systems, including artillery, the
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  Speaker 4: rapid support forces engaged in their slaughter only because the
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  Speaker 4: UAE helped them.
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  Speaker 3: The UAE, of course, disputes this account.
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  Speaker 1: They say that they're not providing all that material that
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  Speaker 1: you mentioned. Now, from what you've been able to find,
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  Speaker 1: how strong is the evidence really linking Abu Dhabi to
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  Speaker 1: the RSF?
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  Speaker 4: It's absolutely incontrovertible. I testified to the Parliament of the
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  Speaker 4: United Kingdom in June of this year that with British diplomats,
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  Speaker 4: we were asked at the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab to
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  Speaker 4: publicly release on behalf of the UK government phone data
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  Speaker 4: which showed RSF officials traveling through Ethiopia with their transponders
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  Speaker 4: turned off on their plane to facilities inside the UAE
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  Speaker 4: which were responsible for transshipping gold taken from Sudan. Additionally,
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  Speaker 4: the UN fact-finding mission and multiple credible reports, including Human
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  Speaker 4: Rights Watch, have shown clearly that the UAE is directly
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  Speaker 4: assisting the rapid support forces, including providing advanced weapon systems
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  Speaker 4: such as drones, which we've documented through satellite imagery.
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  Speaker 1: Have you been able to establish how that equipment has
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  Speaker 1: been used against civilians?
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely. In the case of drones, it was the essential...
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  Speaker 4: A factor in the rapid support forces takeover of al
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  Speaker 4: fasher including being able to block telephone communications engage in
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  Speaker 4: missile strikes into hunt civilians, including blowing up a mosque
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  Speaker 4: feeding kitchens and hospitals.
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  Speaker 1: And the UAE insists that it has not supplied weapons
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  Speaker 1: or financial support to the rapid support forces. What would
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  Speaker 1: you say to those who argue that the evidence that
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  Speaker 1: you just cited and that other organizations have also found
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  Speaker 1: that those pieces of evidence remain circumstantial?
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  Speaker 4: It's not circumstantial.
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  Speaker 1: The U.S.
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  Speaker 4: Intelligence community, according to the Wall Street Journal in October
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  Speaker 4: of last year, found that not only the UAE was
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  Speaker 4: supplying the rapid support forces, but UAE assistance increased. The
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  Speaker 4: UAE simply is lying. The fact of the matter is
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  Speaker 4: that data and intelligence findings from across the international community
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  Speaker 4: contradict what they're saying. 20 years ago, the rapid support forces,
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  Speaker 4: then known as the Janjaweed, had camels, AK-47s, and rusty rifles.
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  Speaker 4: Now they have advanced artillery systems, they have drones, and
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  Speaker 4: the planes that brought them have been tracked, coming in
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  Speaker 4: some cases from Abu Dhabi itself. There are four advanced
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  Speaker 4: weapons systems called AH-4 artillery pieces that are in the
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  Speaker 4: hands of the rapid support forces. According to the U.S. Army,
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  Speaker 4: the only four of those types of weapons outside of
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  Speaker 4: China are in the hands of the UAE. They're now
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  Speaker 4: in Sudan.
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  Speaker 1: Let's look at the person who is now running for
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  Speaker 1: Secretary General of the United Nations, Lana Nuseba.
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  Speaker 3: She was one of the.
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  Speaker 1: UAE's most senior diplomats throughout much of the Sudan war.
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  Speaker 3: She's not anymore. What responsibility does.
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  Speaker 1: She personally bear, in your opinion, for her government's actions?
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  Speaker 4: She was the representative of the UAE to the United
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  Speaker 4: Nations as the siege on al-Fasher began in 2024. Additionally,
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  Speaker 4: she went to the field, in this case, Chad, to
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  Speaker 4: literally tell displaced people that the UAE was there to
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  Speaker 4: assist them, while the New York Times at the same
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  Speaker 4: moment was showing incontrovertible evidence of assistance by the UAE
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  Speaker 4: through Chad to the RSF. The fact of the matter
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  Speaker 4: is she has been the main apologist for the UAE
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  Speaker 4: campaign to support the RSF, and she has no credible
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  Speaker 4: role in leading the United Nations.
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  Speaker 1: Nusebe has, when she launched her candidacy, promised to defend
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  Speaker 1: human rights and restore trust in the United Nations, and
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  Speaker 1: she is a seasoned diplomat. Given the circumstances, do you
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  Speaker 1: believe that even though, you know, withdrawing herself from the connection,
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  Speaker 1: because of course the Secretary General has to be impartial,
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  Speaker 1: do you believe she could deliver on those promises?
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  Speaker 3: No.
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  Speaker 4: The UAE has bought football teams. They have even sponsored
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  Speaker 4: the NBA. And now they want to put their imprimatur
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  Speaker 4: on the United Nations, which right now the International Criminal
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  Speaker 4: Court is investigating these crimes, including alleged genocide and crimes
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  Speaker 4: against humanity by a paramilitary force that has clear ties,
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  Speaker 4: including with specific weapon systems, specific trade routes, and specific individuals.
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  Speaker 4: that have been proven over and over again to the
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  Speaker 4: UAE itself. The UAE cannot put its imprimatur on the
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  Speaker 4: UN like it's done on a sports team, and we
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  Speaker 4: have to say no.
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  Speaker 1: I want to look at what the consequences, in your opinion,
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  Speaker 1: would be, but let's first look at the prospects of
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  Speaker 1: success of her candidacy. She has the backing of Gulf countries,
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  Speaker 1: and many experts believe she wouldn't have made her candidacy
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  Speaker 1: public had she not been able to secure the backing
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  Speaker 1: of the permanent members of the Security Council. Why do
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  Speaker 1: you think governments would be prepared to support her despite
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  Speaker 1: the allegations against the country she represented for so long?
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  Speaker 4: For the same reasons those same countries, the United States,
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  Speaker 4: China and the United Kingdom have failed to prevent the
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  Speaker 4: genocide that occurred in al-Fasr is simply this. The lives
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  Speaker 4: of people in Sudan matter less to the permanent members
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  Speaker 4: of the Security Council. than their diplomatic, economic, and security
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  Speaker 4: relationships with the UAE. It's quite simple, and we need
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  Speaker 4: to really see the moment we're in right now. This
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  Speaker 4: is not just about Lana Nasebe, and it's not just
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  Speaker 4: about the leadership of the UN. It's about whether countries
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  Speaker 4: that support genocide will not only not be punished and
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  Speaker 4: held accountable, but whether they'll be rewarded. And right now,
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  Speaker 4: the trajectory we're on seems to show that you can
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  Speaker 4: commit a genocide in the 21st century, not only get
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  Speaker 4: away with it, but end up leading the United Nations.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's not the UAE perpetrating that genocide. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: you're saying that they're facilitating it.
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  Speaker 4: No, I'm saying they are actively involved in the command
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  Speaker 4: and control of that operation.
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  Speaker 1: All right.
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  Speaker 4: I am saying that.
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  Speaker 3: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: The United Nations is, at this moment, we're speaking under
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  Speaker 1: unprecedented scrutiny and pressure. What would Nusebe as Secretary General
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  Speaker 1: mean for the credibility of the organization and, of course,
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  Speaker 1: its ability to fulfill its mission and mandate?
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  Speaker 4: It would be a slap in the face to both
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  Speaker 4: those who died in al-Fasher and those who survived. It
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  Speaker 4: would be another dehumanization of the people of Sudan, the
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  Speaker 4: people of Darfur, and it would be a message to
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  Speaker 4: those around the world that the UN now stands for
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  Speaker 4: impunity for perpetrators of alleged crimes against humanity and, yes, genocide.
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  Speaker 1: That was Nathaniel Raymond of Yale University in the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Many thanks for your time.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you.