Imagine you’re the president of a midsize country, and you’re offered a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The only condition: You have to pay the secretary-general of the United Nations $1 billion.
This is something like what Donald Trump is now offering world leaders.
Trump has sent letters of invitation to various heads of government to join a new Board of Peace, which he will chair. The organization was envisioned as part of the United Nations-backed effort for the reconstruction and transitional governance of Gaza. But the new board’s charter, details of which have not been previously reported, appears to give the board a global remit, according to a copy we reviewed. And the price of a permanent position on the board is very steep.
The charter’s membership section, written in legalese that sounds not unlike an application to join the committee of an upscale golf club, says members will be invited by the chairman to participate for a three-year term, subject to renewal by Trump. But there is a way to skip the renewals and lock-in for the long term: “The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.”
What the money will be used for isn’t stated. Its likely purpose is to fund reconstruction and other revitalization efforts in Gaza and perhaps beyond, in whatever conflicts Trump and the Board choose to address. But the charter doesn’t address that. Its finance section simply states: “Funding for the expenses of the Board of Peace shall be through voluntary funding from Member States, other States, organizations, or other sources.” That could leave interested world leaders wondering where, exactly, their money would go. The White House didn’t respond immediately to requests for clarification.
Though the concept of the Board of Peace was endorsed by the Security Council in November as part of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, the new board’s charter appears to show an ambition to be what Trump has always wanted: a rival to the UN that lacks the latter’s notorious inefficiency.
The first paragraph of the preamble states that “durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.” And, in case you missed the dig, a little lower the preamble talks of the need for “a more nimble and effective international peace-building body.”
The Board of Peace charter makes no mention of Gaza. And although November’s UN Resolution gave the Board a two-year, extendable mandate ending in December 2027, the three-year terms and permanent, billion-dollar memberships suggests Trump has a much longer time horizon in mind.
The Board of Peace and other measures to address the crisis in Gaza were unveiled in recent days after months of fragile ceasefire. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s friend and special envoy, announced the start of Phase Two of Trump’s peace plan: “the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza,” as well as the establishment of “a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration.” The Board of Peace’s job is to oversee all this. Authorized by the UN Security Council in November, the Board officially formed the day after Witkoff’s announcement, according to a postby Trump on Truth Social.
The Board of Peace has an executive board, which is the organization’s operating committee, as well as a separate panel of Palestinian technocrats, headed by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Sha’ath. The technocrats are responsible for everyday management of Gaza.
Further announcements related to the Board of Peace are expected at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which kicks off Monday. Trump told reporters on Air Force One last week that the board will comprise the “most important leaders of the most important nations.”
In letters of invitation to join the Board of Peace, Trump said, “This Board will be one of a kind, there has never been anything like it!” according to a copy posted on X by Argentinian President Javier Milei. Trump also sent invites to Turkish Premier Tayyip Erdogan, according to an X post by the head of Erdogan’s communications office, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has accepted, according to the Globe and Mail.
If Trump aims to create a UN replacement, that would square with his long-held contempt for the global body that. In September, he went well over his allotted time at the General Assembly for an excoriating speech. “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” he asked, adding that the organization had “tremendous potential” that it was “not even close to living up to.” Trump claimed he had to step in and end wars that the UN was too weak to handle.
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