Women's Day: 'Females should make up 50% in negotiating room'

Dubai - Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, UAE’s permanent representative to the UN, talks about women’s equality and empowerment.

Women have been critical in the UAE’s fight against the pandemic, and the UAE’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, says it is time women constitute a more representative figure in positions of power.

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“Female leaders have been praised for their roles in response to Covid-19, but remain underrepresented in decision-making,” says Nusseibeh.

“If women are 50 per cent of the world’s population, shouldn’t they be 50 per cent of the people in the negotiating room?” asked the young envoy, who heads the UAE’s role on the world stage.

There are two important factors that could contribute to securing seats for women at the negotiating table, says Nusseibeh: “First [we need to] create inclusive spaces for women at negotiations, which includes prioritising increased access to digital technologies, something that requires both funding and monitoring.

“We also need UN member states and UN entities to persistently advocate for the guaranteed meaningful and equal participation of women.”

The impacts of crises are never gender-neutral, and Covid‑19 is no exception. This year’s International Women’s Day is celebrating the crucial role played by women in the ongoing recovery from Covid-19.

Nusseibeh’s message this year is simple: “There is nothing women and girls cannot do. Even today there are many people who are content to put up the barrier and define women by the very stereotypes we are breaking. But ignore them and continue to knock on those doors until they open.”

The envoy has been using her voice to promote women’s inclusion throughout her career at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As UN Ambassador, she works tirelessly to integrate a gender angle into her work, “because many barriers to women remain across society, and because it also happens to be smart foreign policy.”

Practising what she preaches, the UN envoy, who has been heading the Mission for nearly eight years now, leads a staff of 10 diplomats, seven of whom are women. She has been heavily involved in international women’s empowerment initiatives, including serving as President of the UN Women Executive Board in 2017; Vice-President of the General Assembly for the 72nd session; and most recently, as Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform for three sessions of the UN General Assembly from 2017 to 2020.

Nusseibeh looks forward to the UAE’s term on the Security Council in 2022-2023, where a key priority will be to advance women’s equal and meaningful participation within the council and beyond, a core value for the UAE.

“We need to foster dialogue to better understand how we as an international community can work together to support women on the ground and ensure their voices are heard. We need to support research [in order to better] inform our decisions in international fora such as the UN.”

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