Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are among the countries and their leaders that have been invited to join Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”.
The ambitious plan, part of the United States’ president’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, had the initial aim of overseeing the governance and reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave, after two years of Israel’s military offensive left much of it in ruins.
But according to a copy of the draft charter, seen by the Reuters news agency, it would then expand to deal with other world conflicts. A limited mandate for the board was authorised by the United Nations Security Council in November last year, but it focused solely on the Gaza conflict.
It remains unclear exactly how many countries have been sent the draft charter and an invitation, but there are reports around 60 world leaders have been sent the offer.
Those include Canada’s Mark Carney, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, India’s Narendra Modi, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Leaders have so far reacted cautiously to the invitation. Only Hungary’s Viktor Orbán — a close Trump ally — gave an unequivocal acceptance.
United States President Donald Trump has indicated the board would “start with Gaza” and then expand to address other world conflicts. Source: Getty / Tasos Katopodis
Other governments appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to express concerns anonymously about the impact on the work of the UN. Carney said he agreed to the board in principle, but that further details were still being clarified.
Some rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticised last year due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
Extended involvement would come with $1.5 billion price tag
If Australia were to accept the invitation, Albanese would represent the country on the board for a three-year term. Beyond three years, member states would be required to pay US$1 billion (AU$1.5 billion each) for permanent membership.
Over the weekend, Trump’s administration announced the members of the “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body.
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were among those named, as well as officials from Türkiye and Qatar.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic administration would be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of the executive board announced on the weekend had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy.
— With additional reporting by Reuters.
