Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other world leaders on Thursday signed the charter for the “Board of Peace” headed by United States President Donald Trump, who has billed the body as a platform for resolving international conflicts.
Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after Israel’s two-year war on the Palestinian enclave, the board’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts.
A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries — including Pakistan — gathered on stage with Trump at a signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland to put their names to the founding charter of the body.
Trump — who is the chairman of the Board of Peace — said they were “in most cases very popular leaders, some cases not so popular”.
“That’s the way it goes in life,” he said.
“Congratulations, President Trump. The charter is now in full force, and the Board of Peace is now an official international organisation,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“Every one of them are friends of mine. I like every single one of them,” Trump said about the signatories.
“Just about every country wants to be a part of it. We sent out the letters a couple of days ago and countries that are here just happened to be in Davos,” he said.
The US president declared, “Everybody in this room is a star […] There’s a reason that you’re here. When you use that inspired genius for peace, the opposite of peace has no chance.”
Trump officials also unveiled ambitious plans for a “New Gaza” during the ceremony, with the US leader describing the devastated Palestinian territory as “great real estate.”
Referring to the signatories at the outset of his speech, Trump said, “Each and every one of you, we are truly honoured by your presence today. Leaders of countries, in most cases, very popular leaders; in some cases, not so popular.”
Among those seated in the audience was PM Shehbaz. Pakistan on Wednesday had accepted Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace.
After Trump’s address, the heads of various countries took turns to sign the board’s charter. Permanent members must also pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a “pay to play” version of the UN Security Council.
While Trump’s plan had sparked concerns that he wants the board to rival the United Nations (UN), the US president said the body will work “in conjunction” with the UN.
Officials from Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan also signed the document with Trump.
Apart from the US, no other permanent member of the UNSC — the five nations with the most say over international law and diplomacy since the end of World War Two — has so far committed to join.
France has declined to join. Britain said on Thursday it was not joining at present. China has not yet said whether it will do so.
However, the Board of Peace’s potential membership has been controversial, with Trump inviting Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu has said Israel will join the board, but he was not at the ceremony.
Trump had also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine four years ago. While the US president said Putin had agreed to join, the Russian leader said he was still studying the invitation.
Reuters could not immediately spot any representatives from governments of top global powers or from Israel or the Palestinian Authority (PA) at the signing ceremony.
‘End’ of Hamas if it doesn’t disarm: Trump
During his speech, the US president also said that Hamas must disarm under the Gaza ceasefire deal or it will be the “end” of the Palestinian movement.
“They have to give up their weapons, and if they don’t do that, it’s going to be the end of them,” Trump said.
“We’re committed to ensuring Gaza is demilitarised, properly governed and beautifully rebuilt,” he affirmed, adding that “we can spread out to other things as we succeed with Gaza”.
“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,” the US president said, adding that the combination of the Board of Peace and the UN could be “very, very unique for the world”.
Trump recalled that under Phase 1 of the ceasefire plan, “we have painstakingly […] maintained the Gaza ceasefire, delivered record levels of humanitarian aid”.
“We’ve given aid, you know, you used to hear that all the people were starving and it was terrible. You don’t hear that anymore,” he insisted, highlighting the release of 20 Israeli captives and the bodies of most of the deceased ones.
The US president asserted: “The first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world are unfolding before your very eyes.
“Together we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance, it’s gonna 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 also claimed that Iran wants to hold talks with the US, and that Washington was willing to do so. “And Iran does want to talk, and we’ll talk.”
He also recalled the US strikes on Iran’s uranium enrichment sites in June 2025.“Can’t let that happen,” he said, referring to the US’s stance that Tehran plans to build nuclear weapons.
‘New Gaza’ plans
A large part of the ceremony was devoted to talking about its plans for shattered Gaza.
US businessman Jared Kushner speaks as a “Gaza Timeline” is displayed on a giant screen at the “Board of Peace” meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual summit in Davos on Jan 22, 2026. — AFP
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a former property developer like the president, showed slides of what he billed as a “master plan” for Gaza’s reconstruction.
The slides included maps of new settlements in the Gaza Strip and artist renderings of gleaming seafront hotels and apartments under the caption “New Gaza”.
“It could be a hope. It could be a destination,” Kushner said.
Kushner said the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal would address funding for reconstruction in the territory, which lies mostly in ruins, as well as disarmament by Hamas, one of the most intractable unresolved issues.
“If Hamas doesn’t demilitarise, that would be what holds this plan back,” Kushner said.
“The next 100 days, we’re going to continue to just be heads down and focused on making sure this is implemented. We continue to be focused on humanitarian aid, humanitarian shelter, but then creating the conditions to move forward.”
Focus right now on Gaza: Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also spoke on the occasion.
In his speech, Rubio highlighted that Trump was “willing to talk to or engage with anyone in the interest of peace”.
He stressed, “Now we have this Board of Peace … [its] possibilities are endless. Obviously, with a focus first and foremost on making sure this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.
“I know this president has it as his highest priority and will give everything that he has to make sure that this is successful.”
The US secretary of state asserted: “This is not just a Board of Peace but a board of action, just like President Trump is a president of action.”
Rubio emphasised that the “focus is right now on Gaza and making sure that the […] vision for the future of Gaza […] of the region, is not just possible and promising, but it is our destiny”.
He further said it would serve as an example of “what’s possible for other places and other conflicts that seem impossible to solve right now”.
“Many others who are going to join … are not in town today or they have to go through some procedure internally in their own country because of constitutional limitations, but others will join,” Rubio added.
Brazen disregard for int’l law, human rights: Amnesty
Meanwhile, Amnesty International termed the ceremony marking the Board of Peace’s establishment a “brazen disregard for international law and human rights”.
“It also represents a stark new manifestation of the escalating assault on United Nations mechanisms, international justice institutions and universal norms,” the rights body said in a statement on X.
Amnesty further noted: “At the direction of its to-be chairman, President Trump, with its membership comprised of US allies including a few heads of state he has personally invited, the putative mechanism is fundamentally at odds with the international legal system that underpins the global order.
“It is a slap in the face of decades of efforts to strengthen global governance through adherence to universal values and greater equality between member states and derails legitimate efforts to address the current system’s limitations and gaps.”
Amnesty emphasised that now was “precisely the moment that international law must be upheld, defended and enforced; not abandoned in favour of ad hoc arrangements shaped and distorted by political and economic interests, personal ambition or vanity”.
Rafah crossing to open ‘in both directions’: Palestinian official
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen in both directions next week, said Ali Shaath, the newly-appointed administrator of the Palestinian territory under the US-backed plan.
The reopening of the crossing is part of the Gaza truce plan announced by Trump in October, but it has remained closed so far.
“I am pleased to announce the Rafah crossing will open next week in both directions,” Shaath, a former PA deputy minister, said at the Board of Peace launch ceremony.
“For Palestinians in Gaza, Rafah is more than a gate; it is a lifeline and symbol of opportunity. Opening Rafah signals that Gaza is no longer closed to the future and the world,” Shaath said.
As part of the truce plan, Shaath was named to head a committee of 15 Palestinian technocrats to oversee the day-to-day administration of Gaza.
Additional input from Reuters
