World leaders query Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, fears for UN
Governments are reacting cautiously to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Peace Board initiative, which aims to resolve conflicts on a global scale; Diplomats say this plan could harm the work of the United Nations.
Only Hungary, whose leader is a close ally of Trump, has given a definitive acceptance in response to invitations that have been sent to nearly 60 countries and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, diplomats said.
Other governments have appeared reluctant to comment publicly, leading officials to anonymously express concerns about the impact on the work of the UN.
The board will be led by Mr. Trump for life and will begin by addressing the Gaza conflict and later expand to address other conflicts, according to a draft agreement and a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.
The letter states that member states will be limited to three-year terms unless each of them pays US$1 billion ($A1.5 billion) to fund the board’s activities and gain permanent membership.
“It offers permanent membership to partner countries with a deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity,” the White House said in a post on channel X.
Visiting South Korea, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters that her country was “ready to do its part,” but it was unclear whether she was talking specifically about Gaza or peace in general.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday that Trump had accepted the Gaza Peace Board in principle but that details were still being worked out.
The Peace Board was authorized by the United Nations Security Council in November, but this lasted only until 2027 and focused solely on the Gaza conflict. Russia and China, two powers with veto power, abstained, complaining that the resolution did not give the UN a clear role in Gaza’s future.
The inclusion of a ‘charter’ in the invitation letter has raised concerns among some European governments that it could undermine the work of the United Nations, which Trump has accused of not supporting efforts to end conflicts around the world.
“This is a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN charter,” one diplomat said.
Three other Western diplomats also said it appeared likely to undermine the United Nations if it continued.
Three diplomats and an Israeli source said Mr. Trump wants the Peace Board to have a broader role beyond Gaza, overseeing other conflicts that Trump says he has resolved.
According to officials, those invited included leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Australia, Canada, the European Commission and major powers in the Middle East.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Mr Trump, wrote to X: “Of course we accepted this honorable invitation.”
The document states that “lasting peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that often fail.” The report stated that “there is a need for a more agile and effective international peacebuilding body”.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in response to a question about the draft US Peace Board that Guterres “believes that Member States are free to come together in different groups.”
“The United Nations will continue the mandate assigned to it,” said Farhan Haq, deputy UN spokesman.
Eager for the Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Trump said in his letter that the board would meet in the near future, adding: “This board will be the only one of its kind, there has never been anything like it!”
