Trump’s ‘board of peace’: Who has joined, who hasn’t – and why

The United States is expected to big a signing ceremonial connected Thursday for President Donald Trump’s “board of peace” (BoP) connected the margins of the World Economic Forum (WEF) successful Davos, Switzerland.

Trump, who is to conscionable planetary leaders this week astatine the WEF, is pitching the board arsenic the adjacent signifier of his administration’s 20-point bid program and a mechanics to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel’s genocidal warfare against Palestinians successful the territory since October 2023.

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But portion the BoP was archetypal introduced past twelvemonth with a circumstantial two-year United Nations Security Council mandate to negociate post-war Gaza, its authoritative charter makes nary nonstop notation to Gaza astatine all.

Instead, the papers outlines a sweeping mandate that appears to situation existing diplomatic frameworks, advocating a determination distant from established planetary institutions connected the premise that they person failed to support planetary peace.

Invitations to articulation the BoP were sent this week to dozens of countries, respective of which person confirmed receipt and signalled their willingness to participate. But others person truthful acold been reluctant to join. Observers argued this reluctance of galore invited states to marque contiguous commitments reflects increasing interest that the Trump medication is seeking to usage the BoP’s expansive charter to bypass, oregon adjacent replace, the UN.

Here is what we cognize truthful acold astir the board, its operation and mandate, the countries that person agreed to join, those inactive undecided and wherefore hesitation remains widespread.

What is the ‘board of peace’?

First projected successful September connected the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, the committee was initially framed arsenic a mechanics to enactment the administration, reconstruction and economical betterment of the Gaza Strip.

The White House formally announced the instauration of the BoP past week. However, the organisation’s 11-page charter, comprising 8 chapters and 13 articles, does not notation Gaza once.

Instead, it proposes a wide mandate for a caller planetary organisation that “seeks to beforehand stability, reconstruct dependable and lawful governance, and unafraid enduring bid successful areas affected oregon threatened by conflict”.

The governance operation has 3 layers: the BoP, an enforcement committee and a president with sweeping authority.

According to the White House, a “founding enforcement council” sits astatine the top. The committee of bid votes connected budgets, argumentation and elder appointments portion the enforcement board, which consists of seven members, is liable for implementing the mission.

Members of the enforcement committee see erstwhile United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The president is Trump himself. He serves arsenic the last authorization connected the mentation of the charter and holds veto powerfulness implicit cardinal decisions, including rank removal and enforcement committee actions.

Board members “will oversee a defined portfolio captious to Gaza’s stabilization and semipermanent success”, the White House said, including “governance capacity-building, determination relations, reconstruction, concern attraction, large-scale funding, and superior mobilisation”.

Below the founding assembly is the “Gaza enforcement board”, tasked with determination coordination and supported by representatives from Arab countries. Its mandate is to assistance “support effectual governance” successful Gaza.

At the bottommost of the hierarchy is the “national committee for the medication of Gaza” (NCAG), which is to beryllium led by Ali Shaath, a erstwhile Palestinian Authority lawman minister.

Alongside these civilian structures is simply a subject pillar, led by US General Jasper Jeffers arsenic commandant of the “international stabilisation force” with a mandate that includes “permanent disarmament”.

Membership successful the BoP is constricted to states invited by the chairman. Member states are represented by heads of authorities oregon elder authorities officials and indispensable lend to operations successful enactment with their home laws.

While wide rank presumption past 3 years, this bounds does not use to states contributing much than $1bn successful the archetypal year, which would assistance them a imperishable seat.

Speaking astatine the White House connected Tuesday, Trump praised the initiative. “I privation the United Nations could bash more. I privation we didn’t request a committee of peace, but the United Nations – and, you know, with each the wars I settled, United Nations ne'er helped maine connected 1 war,” helium told reporters.

Which countries person been invited and which person agreed to join?

Soon aft the announcement, invitations were sent to dozens of countries crossed the world.

Leaders of astatine slightest 50 nations person confirmed receiving invitations, including adjacent US allies specified arsenic the UK, France, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

US adversaries China and Russia were besides invited.

Israel confirmed it volition articulation the BoP aft support from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s bureau announced connected Wednesday that helium would enactment successful the inaugural contempt the International Criminal Court (ICC) having issued a warrant for his apprehension implicit alleged warfare crimes successful Gaza.

His determination comes adjacent aft earlier disapproval from his bureau implicit the creation of the enforcement committee, which includes Turkiye, a determination rival.

Netanyahu’s participation, contempt the ICC warrant issued successful 2023 accusing him of overseeing crimes against humanity successful Gaza, is apt to intensify concerns astir the board’s objectivity, peculiarly fixed Trump’s cardinal relation successful controlling its rank and direction.

Pakistan besides confirmed connected Wednesday that it would participate, according to a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Pakistan expresses the anticipation that with the instauration of this framework, factual steps volition beryllium taken towards the implementation of a imperishable ceasefire, further scaling up of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians, arsenic good arsenic reconstruction of Gaza,” the connection said.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs besides said connected Wednesday that the country’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, would articulation the board.

Other countries that person agreed to articulation see the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Argentina, Hungary and Belarus.

Andreas Krieg, subordinate prof of information studies astatine King’s College London, said countries joining the BoP were motivated by “access and leverage”.

“They volition privation a nonstop enactment into the White House; a spot successful the country wherever contracts, corridors, crossings and timelines are decided; and a accidental to signifier what ‘post-Hamas’ means earlier facts harden connected the ground,” helium told Al Jazeera, adding that information besides amounts to “buying insurance” against aboriginal exclusion.

Filippo Boni, a elder lecturer successful authorities and planetary studies astatine the Open University successful the UK, said invited states look a stark choice.

“Either articulation the committee and undermine the UN oregon garbage to join,” helium said, “and perchance look tariffs from the US.”

Which countries person rejected the BoP?

At slightest 4 countries – France, Denmark, Norway and Sweden – person confirmed they volition not join. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed the determination to reporters successful Davos connected Wednesday.

Denmark is already nether unit from Washington implicit Greenland. Trump has repeatedly suggested the US should get the semiautonomous Danish territory, adjacent threatening unit if Copenhagen refuses – though successful his code to the WEF connected Wednesday, Trump said helium would not usage force.

Why are countries hesitant to beryllium portion of the BoP?

Several different countries crossed the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, including India, Indonesia, Egypt, Japan and Thailand, person besides been invited but person yet to marque a decision.

Most of Europe – including US allies similar the UK, Germany and Italy – person not said whether they volition articulation the board.

China and Russia haven’t confirmed information successful the committee either.

For galore nations, including China, that reluctance isn’t surprising, Boni suggested. Several of these countries advocator for UN principles and laws arsenic the guiding pillars of planetary relations. Beijing, meanwhile, “has projected its ain planetary governance model done the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), truthful it volition apt determination cautiously connected Trump’s projected plan”, helium said. Launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping successful 2025, the GGI is simply a governance model aimed astatine promoting multilateralism though Beijing has not outlined galore specifics.

Displaced Palestinian children play astatine Bilal Mosque successful Khan Younis successful the confederate Gaza Strip connected January 20, 2026 [Haitham Imad/EPA]

Krieg said states choosing to enactment retired volition inactive question to support adjacent ties with Washington done bilateral channels, defence cooperation, commercialized and discreet humanitarian support.

At the aforesaid time, “they volition besides support insisting that thing involving troops and ineligible authorization should tally done the UN due to the fact that that gives them screen and limits the consciousness that they are moving for an American project,” helium said.

Masood Khan, a erstwhile Pakistani ambassador to the US and UN, said the invitation for his state to articulation the committee reflects increasing planetary designation of Islamabad’s stature. But helium warned that the initiative’s occurrence depends much connected authorities than connected its structure.

“As agelong arsenic President Trump’s governmental authorization remains intact, the operation is apt to function,” helium said, noting that the apical tiers are filled with figures intimately aligned with Trump.

Trump began his 2nd word arsenic president a twelvemonth agone and is acceptable to stay successful bureau until January 2029, a twelvemonth longer than the BoP’s UN mandate.

Boni said immoderate countries consenting to wage $1bn for a imperishable spot would marque that determination based much connected “a governmental prime than an economical one”.

“The prime is to either situation multilateralism and the rule-based planetary bid with the UN astatine its centre oregon to proceed abiding by it, thereby refusing to endorse US enactment nether this caller framework,” helium said.

Krieg suggested that immoderate affluent states whitethorn spot worth successful paying for power though adjacent they whitethorn proceed cautiously.

“Beyond the Gulf, a state similar Japan could spend it, but I would expect Tokyo to beryllium cautious astir a paywall exemplary that weakens UN norms. India tin spend it too, but Delhi seldom pays to articulation idiosyncratic else’s nine unless the instrumentality is factual and immediate,” helium said.

Is the BoP a replacement for the UN?

Perhaps the astir superior interest surrounding the BoP is its imaginable relation arsenic a rival to the UN, which has served arsenic the cornerstone of planetary diplomacy for 8 decades contempt aggregate failings – and repeated violations of its rules by almighty states similar the US and its allies similar Israel.

But Khan rejected the thought that the UN’s nonaccomplishment to enactment decisively successful Gaza reflected an organization collapse

“The UN was prevented from acting. It did not take inaction,” helium said, alluding to repeated US vetoes against Israel that paralysed the Security Council.

Trump was a vocal professional of the UN during his archetypal word from 2017 to 2021 and has chopped backing to respective UN-affiliated bodies during his 2nd stint successful the Oval Office.

But Boni pointed retired that portion the UN Charter enshrined principles specified arsenic the adjacent rights of ample and tiny states aft World War II, the committee of bid charter is fundamentally a database of rules to articulation the nine “where nary specified principles look to beryllium present”.

Krieg said fears that the BoP could hollow retired the UN are good founded.

“You bash not request to abolish the UN to hollow it out. You tin drain attention, drain wealth and make a wont wherever the large calls determination to advertisement hoc bodies chaired by large powers,” helium said.

Trump’s BoP poses that risk, helium added.

“The UN inactive carries thing the committee cannot easy replicate – near-universal membership, ineligible lasting and the machinery of agencies that tin run astatine scale. The hazard is that the committee turns the UN into a work supplier that takes instructions alternatively than sets terms,” Krieg said.

“If different capitals privation the UN to past arsenic the main stage, they volition defy joining the board, money UN channels and dainty the committee arsenic a impermanent instrumentality tied to Gaza alternatively than a exemplary for planetary struggle management.”