AMERICAN President Donald Trump now seeks to create a new international organisation to rival the United Nations. His idea of the ‘Board of Peace’ goes beyond its original UN mandate of overseeing the rehabilitation of Gaza, which has been devastated by two years of Israel’s genocidal war. Reportedly, so far nearly 60 countries have been invited to join the ‘board’ chaired by the American president. It is supposed to operate as a “more nimble and effective international peacebuilding body”. It will cost $1 billion for nations to buy a permanent seat on the so-called board. Many heads of government and state representing potential member countries have been invited to join. The full list of the invitees is still not known.
Interestingly, there is no mention of Gaza in the Board of Peace charter. Last year, a UN Security Council resolution had authorised the formation of the board to oversee the post-war administrative transition of the enclave. Trump has separately named an 11-member executive board for Gaza as part of the 20-point peace plan for the enclave.
But the charter reportedly sent out by the Trump administration to potential members projects the Board of Peace as an international conflict resolution body along the lines of the UN. One wonders under what mandate this international body is being set up. It is the brainchild of the American president who seems to consider himself as the sole arbiter of the global order.
According to international media, the charter gives wide-ranging powers to Trump as the board’s chair, allowing him to appoint and remove member states — a decision that could only be overturned by a two-thirds majority of members. It also provides him with the “exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfil the Board of Peace’s mission”.
The so-called Board of Peace is meant to be used to advance US hegemony.
Trump has been a fierce critic of the UN and under his presidency America has pulled out of several of its agencies. His Board of Peace is also meant to undermine the global body. He aspires to create a new world order dictated by American military might.
Interestingly, the charter says the objective of the board is “to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”. It is ironic that this talk of lawful governance comes from an administration that recently kidnapped the president of a sovereign state (Venezuela) and his wife in a military operation that trampled over all international laws. Trump has dismissed international law, saying only his “own morality” can curb the aggressive policies he is pursuing across the world.
Trump has also threatened to use military force against other South American countries and has bombed Iran last year. It aided Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza that has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and destroyed the entire enclave. The same administration, whose imperialistic designs have been fully exposed, claims to uphold the idea of a rules-based world order.
Describing the need for setting up a new international organisation, the charter maintains: “Durable peace requires pragmatic judgement, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed”. It doesn’t, of course, talk about the fact that America’s own disdain for the rule of law has been the main reason for the failure of the UN and other international institutions. This board cannot provide global peace and stability. It is meant to be used to advance America’s hegemony.
Curiously, the idea of this American-led multinational organisation has been floated as the Trump administration prepares to take over Greenland, which has brought Washington into conflict with its European Nato allies. He has imposed an initial 10 per cent tariff on European countries opposing his plan to seize the Danish-controlled autonomous island.
In a recent message to Norway’s prime minister, Trump reportedly said that one reason why he is pushing to acquire Greenland is that he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace…” was Trump’s message.
Trump’s anger over not getting the Nobel Peace Prize seems to be driving him to take the world down. He no longer distinguishes between rivals and allies. Nothing could be more dangerous for world peace than such a megalomaniac at the helm of the world’s biggest power. His plan to create and chair an international organisation as a rival to the UN will be the final nail in the coffin of an already collapsing global order.
Strangely, neither the Board of Peace nor the Gaza Executive Board under it has Palestinian representation. Instead, the executive board is stuffed with American officials whose pro-Zionist bias is well known. Besides Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and America’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are also included in the executive board. There are also officials from Qatar and Egypt and an Israeli businessman, according to media reports.
One of the most controversial founding members of the Gaza board is Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, who is accused of war crimes for his decision to join the American war in Iraq.
As a part of the peace plan, an International Stabilisation Force will be raised to lead security operations, support comprehensive demilitarisation and enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. Pakistan and some other Muslim countries have been approached to join the force that will be led by an American military officer. Given its dubious mandate, there is a real danger that the ISF will find itself fighting the Palestinian resistance group. Pakistan needs to think through any decision to join the ISF.
The writer is an author and journalist.
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2026
