After months of expectation, the Peace Board promoted by the president of the United States, Donald Trumpwill meet for the first time this Thursday in Washington. Its creation is part of the peace plan for the Gaza Stripbut the Republican president has already indicated that the organization could expand its mandate to resolve other conflicts. These statements have raised alarm bells about the possibility of apart from the United Nations as responsible for managing crisis situations at a global level. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the population continues to suffer death and dispossession in the midst of a unstable ceasefire. Below are some keys about the organism.
Proposal in September Last year, the Peace Board is an international organization that was officially established in January within the framework of the World Economic Forum in DavosSwiss. It is directed by the Government of USA and Trump is your president, so you have broad powers about her. It has the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council which, in Resolution 2803, designated it as the body in charge of supervising the processes of the peace plan for Gaza, which include the reconstruction in the enclave, through the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (CNAG), a group of Palestinian technocrats who will govern the enclave, and the deployment of a temporary peacekeeping forcefor which there is still no start date for its activity.
At least 27 countries They have signed the Peace Board letter drafted by the United States. Most of its members are countries from the Arab and Islamic world, such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Türkiye, Jordan, Saudi Arabiao Bahrainor from the Caucasus, as Armenia y Azerbaijan. The former have a direct interest in the Gaza process, so Israel is also part. Countries like Pakistan or Indonesia They are also members of the Peace Board and could even contribute troops to the peacekeeping forces. The only two member states of the European Union are Hungary and Bulgaria. Great powers such as Russia and China rejected the invitation. Other participating countries are Argentina, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Kosovo o Uzbekistan. No Palestinians have been invited to join the three top levels of the Board, since all of them have been relegated to the technical committee.
UN Security Council Resolution 2803 described it as a “transition administration with international legal personality that will establish the framework and coordinate financing for the Gaza redevelopmentin accordance with the Comprehensive Plan and in accordance with the relevant international legal principles.” The Peace Board will act “until the Palestinian Authority (AP) has satisfactorily completed his reform programand can safely and effectively retake control of Gaza.” “Once the PA’s reform program has been faithfully implemented and the redevelopment of Gaza has moved forward, the conditions could finally be in place for a credible path to self-determination and the creation of a Palestinian state“he adds.
However, Trump’s actions regarding the Peace Board distance it from what is stipulated in this document. First of all, the American president has demanded million-dollar amounts of 1 billion dollars to those who want to renew their membership after the first three years. Secondly, many critics have pointed out that there is Trump’s personal interest behind its creation. “It has less to do with peace, in Gaza or elsewhere, and more to do with imposition of a new transactional global order”writes Hugh Lovatt, researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The Peace Board is not exactly a peace mechanism, [es] a top-down project to affirm the Trump’s control over global affairs”he adds.
At the gates of their first meeting this Thursday, the Gazans begin the month of Ramadan without much joy. Large-scale shelling has decreased since the ceasefire came into effect, but Death is still very present in Gaza. More than 600 personas have perished in Israeli attacks since October. Israel continues to occupy more than half of the Strip, including virtually all of its useful agricultural land, and continues to block free access to essential goods. The members of the CNAG have not yet been able to access to the enclave and, for now, they maintain their meetings in Cairo. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassemhas asked the Peace Board to facilitate the entry of the committee of technocrats so that they can begin the vast task of rebuilding Gaza. “We do a call to lift the siege on Gaza and the crossings open, and let us not be content with the partial and minimal opening,” he said this Tuesday. The Gazan people urgently demand that the second phase of the truce, focused on governance, through the establishment of the Palestinian technical committee, the demilitarizationincluding the disarmament of Hamas, and the long-awaited reconstruction of the enclave.
Subscribe to continue reading
