ARTICLE 19 condemns the establishment of the so-called ‘Board of Peace’. Using a UN‑mandated Gaza mechanism as cover, it has become an apparent attempt to sideline the United Nations by establishing a rival peace and security body. This attack on international law must be vehemently resisted.
The ‘Board of Peace’ was inaugurated by United States president Donald Trump on 22 January 2025 at a ceremony in Davos. Its scope, initially authorised by the UN Security Council Resolution 2803/2025 as a transitional administration to oversee reconstruction and interim governance arrangements in Gaza following two years of devastating conflict, has since expanded to become a new ‘international peace-building body’.
The Board comprises of a selective handful of governments, many with more than questionable human rights records. While Israel, alongside Russia, Belarus and Saudi Arabia, has been invited by the US administration to join the Board, the invitation was not extended to Palestine. With no representatives from Palestine on the Gaza Executive Board, a body responsible for Gaza’s reconstruction, the process appears to completely disregard the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, thereby jeopardising any credible peace efforts.
The Board is chaired by Donald Trump – named as Chairman for Life – who wields ultimate power over its decision making through a sole veto; meanwhile the Board of Peace Executive Board consists predominately of members of Donald Trump’s inner circle. This concentration of power effectively eliminates checks and balances and politicises peace-building, undermining decades of global efforts to ensure such processes remain multilateral and impartial and to sustain the international system built to safeguard peace, justice, and the rights of all.
ARTICLE 19 warns that any credible peace initiatives must uphold international law, and be based on transparency, access to information and accountability – values that the UN system, despite all its flaws, was created to uphold. We also believe that peace without respect for human rights and freedom of expression will be an illusion, as information control often precedes human rights abuses and impunity.
This is the latest in a series of actions by the United States government designed to systematically weaken international law and the systems that enforce it. Over the last year, the US has withdrawn from a whole host of international organisations and United Nations (UN) entities, accusing them of having agendas ‘hostile’ to the US interests, and gutted US financial contributions to their mission. It has directly attacked international accountability mechanisms, placing sanctions on the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, deputy prosecutors, and judges, Palestinian human rights organisations, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese.
For decades, the UN has been the primary and most important forum for advancing democracy, tackling inequalities, and promoting universal human rights, including the right to freedom of expression. It is a complex ecosystem of bodies and specialised agencies, funds and programmes, all with their own crucial mandate to solve the biggest problems of the day.
The UN faces its challenges – the Security Council in particular has long been subject to rightful criticism, as the five permanent members abuse their veto privilege. But the Board of Peace will not solve these challenges. Instead, it is an attempt to further consolidate power into the hands of the US, excluding the vast majority of other countries, while sabotaging legitimate efforts to address the shortcomings of the current system.
In a world of growing crises – from climate change to conflicts – States must affirm their commitment to international law and a stronger UN, and reject further erosion and fragmentation of the multilateralism system, done in pursuit of narrow economic and political interests.