(PHOTO: X)
A recent report from the news media consisted of information about the Trump administration proposing that nations give $1 billion for permanent membership in a newly formed ‘Board of Peace’, which is a global discussion group for peace, security, and prosperity.
The report, which referred to a draft charter that was viewed by Bloomberg, suggested that the plan would also make US President Donald Trump the first chairman of the board and thus give him great power to decide on the guest lists and the duration of their stay. The draft reportedly says that member states would serve a maximum of three years, with the renewal only by the chairman and the $1 billion contribution being used to fast track or prolong a nation’s role. Critics have voiced their worries that such a requirement for payment might give the initiative the image of being a pay to play rather than being an honest multilateral peace effort.
On the other hand, the White House strongly rejected the story. The official White House Rapid Response account on X called the claim of a $1 billion membership fee ‘misleading’ and stated that there is no minimum membership fee to join the Board of Peace in a post on social media. The board would not specify financial criteria and would only grant permanent membership to the partner nations that show a ‘deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity’. The statement implied that the financial contributions or supporting acts might be involved in the board’s functioning but they are not brought up as prerequisites for the membership payments.
The proposed board’s arguments coincidentally relate to other international conflicts involving the United States and its allies. Some observers fear that Trump’s peace board, which has also been associated with a so called Gaza peace mechanism, might be regarded as a competition to existing institutions like the United Nations. Nations that have been invited to take part, which includes a few European and other global leaders, have shown mixed interest and some critics claim that putting a price on membership might deter attendance or do harm to diplomatic ties.
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