DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump has signed the founding charter of a new international body he has called the Board of Peace, an organisation he has promoted as part of the response to a range of global conflicts.
Only a small group of world leaders joined Mr. Trump at the signing ceremony on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, with several major Western allies choosing not to attend amid concerns that the body could be positioned as an alternative to the United Nations.
Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the United Nations for what he has described as ineffective rhetoric, said on Thursday, January 22, 2026 that the Board of Peace would work alongside the U.N., after previously suggesting earlier in the week that it “might” replace it.
Leaders Present and Absent at the Signing
At the signing ceremony, Mr. Trump was joined by leaders and representatives from Argentina, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Qatar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Paraguay and Pakistan.
Russia and China have received invitations but had not confirmed whether they would join.
Israel has supported the initiative, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the Davos summit.
Mr. Netanyahu is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Canada appeared to be excluded from the initiative after a dispute between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In a message addressed to Mr. Carney on Truth Social late Thursday, Mr. Trump said the Board of Peace was withdrawing its invitation for Canada to join.
Charter Outlines Structure and Membership Terms
Mr. Trump initially proposed the body as a vehicle for overseeing a next phase of his peace plan for the Gaza Strip, but the initiative has since expanded.
In November, the United Nations Security Council approved a “Board of Peace” as part of a broader plan that included establishing a security force in Gaza.
NBC News reported that the current charter signed on Thursday makes no direct mention of Gaza.
Instead, the charter describes a broad mandate for a new international organisation intended to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” NBC News reported.
The charter also states that Mr. Trump will chair the body, and that he can be replaced only through “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity, as determined by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board.”
It adds that each member state “shall serve a term of no more than three years,” with exceptions for countries “that contribute more than” $1 billion.
The White House Rapid Response account on X said the $1 billion figure was not a membership fee, but that a contribution of that size would provide permanent membership for countries that demonstrate what it described as a deep commitment to the board’s goals.
The White House has said that a founding executive board would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
President Donald Trump holds a signing founding charter at the “Board of Peace” meeting Thursday, January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Countries Set to Join, and Those Holding Back
More than 20 countries have said they will join the body, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
It was not known whether any had agreed to contribute $1 billion for permanent membership.
Mr. Trump described the initiative as potentially far-reaching, saying the board “has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created,” and called it an “enormous honour” to serve as chairman.
Mr. Rubio thanked the leaders who attended, and said additional countries would join later.
“Others will join,” he said. “Many want to be a part of this effort, because it is going to be a successful effort.”
Mr. Rubio said the body would focus on action, contrasting it with what he described as the issuance of “strongly worded statements” by global leaders.
Western Allies Cite Concerns
Several European governments publicly expressed reservations.
The United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia were among the countries that indicated they would not immediately join the new body.
The office of President Emmanuel Macron of France said this week that the charter “goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question,” according to NBC News.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper raised concerns about the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin participating.
In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, she said Britain would not be among the signatories because the charter amounted to a legal treaty that raised broader issues.
“We won’t be one of the signatories today because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues,” she said, adding that London also had concerns about Mr. Putin being involved “when we are still not seeing any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine.”
Belgium also did not sign the charter. Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot said on X that Belgium had not signed and called reporting suggesting otherwise incorrect.
“Belgium has NOT signed the Charter of the Board of Peace. This announcement is incorrect,” Mr. Prévot wrote.
A spokesperson for Mr. Prévot, Laurens Soenen, said Belgium had “at no point had any intention of signing the charter,” and that it had informed American counterparts of its objections to the document in its current form.
Conflict Resolution Expert Raises Concerns
A conflict resolution expert raised questions about the credibility of President Donald Trump’s newly established “Board of Peace,” arguing that its likely membership could undermine its stated purpose.
Nomi Bar-Yaacov, an international lawyer and expert in conflict resolution, told The Associated Press that the composition of the body “does not bode well for the project’s success.”
Ms. Bar-Yaacov cited as a particular concern the possible inclusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
“Both of them have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court,” she said. “So what kind of a board of peace is this?’’
