Trump Unveils His New ‘Board of Peace,’ But Some Countries Wary

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump promised Thursday his newly established “Board of Peace” will not “be a waste of time,” just after the leaders of several countries signed its charter at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

Trump, who has been vocal about his hopes to one day win the Nobel Peace Prize, said he expects the board to work in concert with the decades-old United Nations, though he didn’t detail how, since many of the countries belong to both international organizations.

“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” he said. “You know, I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, but it has not used it. But there’s tremendous potential in the United Nations.”

The board includes Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan, according to a list shared by the White House.

The Trump administration earlier this month stopped processing visas for residents from several of those countries, writing in a social media post that those “migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates.” Countries on the list include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.

Belgium declines

The White House originally included Belgium on the list of Board of Peace members, but Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot wrote in a social media post that the country’s leaders have “NOT signed the Charter of the Board of Peace. This announcement is incorrect.”

“We wish for a common and coordinated European response,” Prévot wrote. “Like many European countries, we have reservations about the proposal.”

Trump has been highly critical of European allies and repeatedly criticized NATO during his second term, especially as he’s ramped up pressure to acquire Greenland.

Trump said during his speech, while members of the Board of Peace sat nearby in chairs, that he believes it “has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created.”

“Together, we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance. I think it’s going to happen — to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed, and forge a beautiful, everlasting, and glorious peace for that region and for the whole region of the world because I’m calling the world a region,” Trump said. “The world is a region. We’re going to have peace in the world. And boy, what a great legacy that would be for all of us. Everybody in this room is a star, or you wouldn’t be here.”

by Jennifer Shutt, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.