US President Donald Trump is seeking to assemble a powerful new international body under his personal presidency, inviting governments to join the “Prada of Peace”, whose proposed charter ties long-term membership to a cash contribution of more than $1 billion. While the body is conceived within a UN-sanctioned framework for Gaza reconstruction, it hints at ambitions that extend far beyond the Palestinian enclave.
What is the draft charter on the Gaza Peace Committee?
According to a draft of the proposed group’s charter seen by Bloomberg, President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and decide who would be invited as members. Decisions would be taken by majority, with each member state present having one vote, but all would be subject to approval by the president.
“Each member state shall serve for a term not exceeding three years from the entry into force of this charter, subject to renewal by the President. The three-year term of membership shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash to the Peace Council during the first year from the entry into force of the charter,” the proposal states.
A global body with a price of admission
Donald Trump has sent letters of invitation to selected heads of government, asking them to participate in the proposed peace council. Although the initiative was originally intended as part of a UN-backed effort to oversee Gaza’s post-war reconstruction and transitional administration, a draft charter reviewed by Bloomberg suggests the board will have a much broader, potentially global, scope.
Under the charter, member states would typically serve three-year renewable terms at the discretion of the president. However, an express exception applies to those who are willing to underwrite the institution in bulk. As the document states:
“The three-year period of membership shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash to the Peace Council during the first year after the entry into force of the Charter.”
The language, full of legal formalities, leaves no doubt that financial commitment is essential to institutional permanence.
Manage by invitation – and approval
The proposed structure puts exceptional power in the hands of the chairman. Under the proposal, Trump would serve as the board’s inaugural leader, determine membership invitations and retain final approval over decisions made by majority vote. Each participating state would have one vote if present, but the results would remain subject to the approval of the chairman.
While the charter outlines how the funds are to be raised, it offers few details on how they will be used. Its financial clause merely states:
“Financing of the Peace Council’s expenses shall take place through voluntary funding from member states, other states, organizations or other sources.
This lack of specificity is likely to raise questions about oversight, accountability, and end use for potential contributors.
From the Gaza mechanism to a rival in the UN?
The peace council was approved by the UN Security Council in November as part of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. But the charter itself makes no mention of Gaza, despite a UN resolution giving the governing council a two-year mandate, renewable until December 2027.
Instead, the preamble suggests a broader philosophical departure from existing multilateral frameworks. It states that “lasting peace requires pragmatic judgment, sensible solutions and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed”, and calls for a “more nimble and effective international peacebuilding body”. The language echoes Trump’s long-standing criticism of the UN as cumbersome and ineffective.
Oversight of the Gaza crossing
Operational responsibility for Gaza remains central to the council’s immediate purpose. After months of a fragile truce, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the start of the second phase of the administration’s plan: “the complete demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza” along with the creation of a “transitional technocratic Palestinian Authority.”
The board was formally established the following day, Trump confirmed on Truth Social.
The day-to-day running of Gaza would fall to a separate panel of Palestinian technocrats, led by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Sha’ath, operating under the supervision of a board of trustees.
Executive Board of Global Personalities
The White House has already named seven initial members of the Board of Peace’s executive board, essentially its operating committee. They include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga, financier Marc Rowan, Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gabriel and Witkoff himself.
Further announcements are expected at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which begins on Monday. Trump said the board would include “the most important leaders of the most important nations.”
Invitations and timely responses
Trump’s invitation letters underscore the uniqueness he attributes to the project. In one letter publicly shared by Javier Milei, the US president wrote:
“This council will be one of a kind, nothing like it has ever been!”
Invitations were also sent to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, with Ottawa confirming Carney’s acceptance.
Long-term vision
If the Peace Council is intended to be a counterweight—or even an alternative—to the UN, it would be consistent with Trump’s history of open skepticism toward multilateral institutions.
In a speech to the General Assembly in September, Donald Trump asked: “What is the purpose of the United Nations?”, arguing that while the organization had “enormous potential”, it “wasn’t even close to it”, and claimed that he intervened to resolve conflicts that the UN was “too weak to handle”.