Trump’s Board of Peace: A UN Alternative?

President Trump’s Board of Peace was formed as a body to oversee the post-war rebuilding of Gaza. Can it emerge, though, as an answer to America’s endless frustration with the United Nations, a body that was created in the aftermath of World War II, but too often undermines American interests and values?Over the weekend Mr. Trump announced the start of his Gaza 20-point plan’s second phase, which would be overseen by a Board of Peace, a group he would chair. The announcement was accompanied with letters that the White House sent to global leaders, inviting them to join the Board. The letters indicate that the role of the BoP would stretch far beyond Gaza. The president was scheduled to announce details of the Board’s agenda at Davos on Thursday. Immediate reaction was mixed at best. While President Javier Milei of Argentina quickly said he would join Mr. Trump’s group, his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, rejected the idea. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach. If the idea is that the Board would replace the United Nations, that would “certainly be opposed by most UN member states,” a former American alternate ambassador to the world body, Robert Wood, tells the Sun. “Whether the Board of Peace has any future internationally as a conflict-resolution mechanism will depend on what it can accomplish in Gaza,” he adds. Gaza: Will it work? For now, even the announcement of the Board as the top body overseeing the second phase of Mr. Trump’s Gaza peace plan is resisted by one crucial player: It was “not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on the weekend. On Monday, Israeli press outlets reported that Mr. Netanyahu received an invitation from Mr. Trump to join the Board.Israel objects to the inclusion of Hamas-supporting countries, including Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan, in the structure that would oversee reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Such countries figure prominently in Mr. Trump’s roster of players to actively participate in the Strip’s rehabilitation. Additionally, Israel is concerned that the weekend announcement seemed to name all the principals who would participate in promoting economic progress in Gaza. Yet it was sketchy about the Trump plan’s demand to disarm Hamas, destroy all Gaza tunnels, and force Hamas to disband politically. Post October 7, 2023, Israelis no longer believe that economic progress could prevent the terrorists from attacking again. Turtle Bay: Unconcerned about a competing boardThe idea that America would head a new international body as an alternative to the United Nations is far from new. The late Senator from Arizona, John McCain, promoted a “League of Democracies” during his failed presidential run in 2007. “Like-minded nations working together in the cause of peace,” he said, “could act where the UN fails to act.”Several other American-led global organizations have been proposed over the years. President George W. Bush, for one, gathered a “coalition of the willing” to deal with world crises outside the UN realm. His initiative led to great friction with Turtle Bay, where the late secretary general, Kofi Annan, denounced the second Iraq war as a violation of international law. Now Turtle Bay seems far from alarmed about a possible competition from Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace. The organization’s scope and membership are yet to be fleshed out. “There’s no panic in the building,” a senior UN official tells the Sun. “Our work continues, our mandates, all rooted in international law, continue.”The official notes that “there are already many different groupings that bring together various member states.” The Group of 20, the G7, and BRICS, he says, “all work with the UN whenever necessary, but the UN remains the only organization that brings every country around the same table.”America and the UN: No love lostUN membership may be anchored in treaties that countries signed and ratified. Turtle Bay, though, is far from admired universally. It was founded in America’s image. The first three words in the UN Charter, “we the peoples,” emulate the Constitution’s opener, “We the People.” Yet American politicians, especially from the Republican Party, have long sought to limit funds to an organization they say is bloated, corrupt, and too often acts counter to America’s interests. Earlier this month Mr. Trump withdrew from, and cut funding to, 35 UN agencies and bodies. He wrote in a statement that they “undermine America’s independence and waste taxpayer dollars on ineffective or hostile agendas.” Mr. Bush declined to join the UN Human Rights Council and after President Obama rejoined it, Mr. Trump withdrew again. President Reagan left UNESCO, which Mr. Trump left again early last year. Is a BoP the answer? Even UN critics are skeptical of the idea that Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace is a good alternative. “Even if the BoP would, in the long run, attempt to replace the inefficient, failed UN, it needs to be as inclusive as possible,” an Israeli former deputy envoy to the UN, Ambassador Daniel Carmon, tells the Sun. An alternative body “must be formed by consultation with a wide array of participants,” he adds. “This, as yet, is not the case.”Instead, Mr. Trump is simply sending aspirational letters to various world leaders. The letters delineate his own ideas for a board that would settle disputes around the world. Unlike McCain’s “League of Democracies” or groupings like the G7 or BRICS, the criteria for joining has little to do with shared interests, economic goals, or ideological affinity.Paying America for Board membership can give a country a leg up in the new body. The term of those who agree to be members of the Board would be limited to three years. Yet with a contribution of $1 billion, ostensibly for Gaza reconstruction, countries can secure a permanent seat.Decisively non-democratic leaders, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his ally, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, have expressed a strong desire to join. At the same time traditional American allies are far from enthusiastic. On Gaza “we’ve indicated our willingness to play our part, and we will,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Monday, adding, though, “We’re talking to allies about the terms of the board of peace.” European consultations are known to be lengthened, and often end in an impasse. What is the BoP anyway?The board is needed as a “nimble and effective international peace-building body,” according to its charter. It “seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” the charter claims, adding that “durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.”As the Board chairman, according the charter, Mr. Trump “shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfill the Board of Peace’s mission.”In letters to Mr. Lukashenka and others, Mr. Trump writes that the Board is “the most impressive and consequential Board ever assembled” and said that it would be established as a new International Organization and Transitional Governing Administration.“Our effort will bring together a distinguished group of nations ready to shoulder the noble responsibility of building lasting peace, an honor reserved for those prepared to lead by example, and brilliantly invest in a secure and prosperous future for generations to come,” the letter adds. America “will convene our wonderful and committed partners, most of whom are Highly Respected World Leaders, in the near future.”Those are all lofty goals, and any alternative to the ever-diminished UN would be welcome in many quarters. As yet, though, Mr. Trump’s Board of Peace, faces many challenges, starting with its ability to make Gaza great as it had never been before.

Trump’s Board of Peace: A UN Alternative?

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