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Hey, do you like peace? Oh, cool, you do? Then, how about we establish a group of countries, all committed to that concept, working together to create global harmony? No, not the one that has already existed for 80 years. A new one. Who’s in?
It turns out: not that many world leaders or global citizens.
That’s because the Board of Peace, created last year by a UN security council resolution, and intended to have a singular focus on implementing a Gaza peace plan, is increasingly looking like a Donald Trump fiefdom, which could allow the US president to wade into other countries’ affairs as he sees fit.
Most of the world’s most influential western countries will reportedly be avoiding the first meeting of the Trump-led Board of Peace later this month, with key US allies like France, Germany, the UK and Canada among those expected to be giving the board a wide berth.
It seems they have been put off by a Board of Peace charter that designates Trump as judge, jury, executioner, money handler, graphic designer and anything else he might desire of the Board of Peace.
“This board has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created in the history of the world,” Trump said in a speech about the Board of Peace in January. (In the same speech, the US president said his bombing of an Iranian nuclear facility had “obliterated everything”, claimed he was “annihilating” terrorists in Nigeria and bragged about the US capture of Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela.)
Upon its formation in November, Trump invited about 60 countries to join the board. So far only about 20 countries have said they will participate: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. “Few of the countries that have signed up for the board are democracies,” Reuters noted.
When the UN security council voted to establish the Board of Peace as a “transitional administration” last year, it had the sole aim of implementing Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.
But it quickly evolved into something different, with Trump setting his sights well beyond just addressing the situation in Gaza. Indeed, the Board of Peace’s charter, which sets out its goals and organizational structure, doesn’t mention Gaza once.
Trump didn’t try to hide his grander ambitions in his January speech. “We’re going to be very successful in Gaza. It’s going to be a good thing to watch. And we can do other things. We can do numerous other things once this board is completely formed, we can pretty much whatever we want to do.”
It’s a far cry from what the UN previously announced. And presumably the UN did not envisage creating a board of peace of which Trump would be the chair for as long as he sees fit.
“Replacement of the Chairman may occur only following voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity, as determined by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board,” the charter of the board reads. Given the executive board is appointed by Trump, and includes Trump’s deputy national security adviser, two members of his cabinet and the president’s son-in-law, it seems unlikely that it would deem Trump incapacitated. Should he decide to step down, only Trump can choose his successor as chair.
That Trump would seek to dominate any group he is a part of shouldn’t come as a surprise. But what does appear to have shocked some is how Trump appears to be setting up the Board of Peace as a direct rival to the UN.
Its charter says the board, which countries have to pay $1bn to be a part of, will “secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, and called for “a more nimble and effective international peace-building body” – a line seen as a jibe at the UN.
Some countries have spoken up. France said it wouldn’t join, with officials briefing that they are concerned the board could conflict with the UN. “I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump said in response, talking about Emmanuel Macron, the French president.
Given Trump’s willingness to involve himself in other countries’ affairs, there will be genuine concerns over giving power to a body of which he has so much control. In his role as chair-for-life, he alone has the power to call Board of Peace meetings, and the power to veto any decision taken by its executive board. (Trump can also remove members of that executive board.)
Should Trump, with his notably emotional and capricious approach to foreign affairs – on Tuesday he threatened to block the opening of a US-Canada bridge, amid his ongoing, one-sided row with Canada’s prime minister – be trusted with bringing peace to the world? If you think so, and you run a country, I know where you can spend $1bn of your taxpayers’ money.
