The Board of Peace, Donald J. Trump’s latest international gamble, is collapsing before it even begins. Far from giving Trump authority over global conflicts, the move has pushed allies closer to the United Nations and made the president’s ambitions look reckless on the world stage.
The board was supposed to oversee Gaza. But Trump expanded it, saying it might mediate conflicts worldwide. He even gave himself veto power and declared he would lead it until he resigns.
Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to calm the nerves. “This is not a replacement for the U.N., but the U.N. has served very little purpose in the case of Gaza other than the food assistance,” he said. That didn’t convince many international leaders.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made it clear that the Security Council still holds the real power. “In my opinion, the basic responsibility for international peace and security lies with the U.N. and lies with the Security Council. Only the Security Council can adopt decisions binding on all, and no other body or other coalition can legally be required to have all member states to comply with decisions on peace and security.”
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Trump’s broader ambitions have been widely rejected. Key nations like China, France, Russia, the U.K., Japan, and Germany either refused to join or haven’t responded. Even allies such as Canada and Denmark pushed back after Trump’s Greenland threats.
Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group laid it out: “The U.S. rollout of the much broader Board of Peace charter turned the whole exercise into a liability. Countries that wanted to sign on to help Gaza saw the board turning into a Trump fan club. That was not appealing.”
Several European leaders also pushed back. France’s Emmanuel Macron warned that the board “raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.” Spain refused because the Palestinian Authority was not included.
China’s U.N. ambassador Fu Cong said: “No single country should dictate terms based on its power, and a winner-takes-all approach is unacceptable… We shall not cherry-pick our commitments to the organization, nor shall we bypass the U.N. and create alternative mechanisms.”
So far, only about 26 of 60 invited countries have joined. 8 Muslim nations backed the Gaza part of the plan but ignored Trump’s global ambitions. Louis Charbonneau from Human Rights Watch said it best: “It’s hardly surprising that very few governments want to join Trump’s wannabe-U.N., which so far looks more like a pay-to-play club of human rights abusers and war crimes suspects than a serious international organization.”
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
