$17B and Troops: Trump’s Board of Peace Outpaces the UN on Day One

Critics dismissed it as a vanity project. Brazil called it a power grab. Europe refused to sign up. And then, at its very first meeting on Thursday, Donald Trump’s Board of Peace raised $17 billion — roughly five times the United Nations’ entire regular budget for 2026.

The $10 billion U.S. pledge was topped by $7 billion from nine member states: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait each committed $1 billion. For context, the UN General Assembly approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for 2026, already slashed 7% under a reform initiative driven by funding shortfalls. The UN ended 2024 with $760 million in arrears, ballooning to $1.6 billion by late 2025.

Who showed up — and who didn’t

Representatives of more than 40 countries gathered at the renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington. Twenty-five have signed the charter as full members, including Argentina, Hungary, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Paraguay. Argentine President Javier Milei, Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attended in person. Indonesia alone pledged up to 8,000 troops.

The absences were just as striking. France, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland and Austria all declined membership. Most sent observers. The Vatican cited “certain critical issues.” Trump revoked Canada’s invitation after PM Mark Carney criticized Washington’s unilateral approach at Davos. Hungary and Bulgaria are the only EU member states that have signed on.

Europe sidelined, the Global South empowered

The composition tells a geopolitical story. The countries writing checks and pledging troops are from the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia — not the Western capitals that have traditionally shaped international peacekeeping. Five nations committed soldiers to a 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force for Gaza: Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania. Egypt and Jordan will train 12,000 police officers.

European powers that dominate the UN Security Council have no seat at this table. Trump framed the contrast bluntly: the Board would serve as an oversight body for the UN itself, “making sure it runs properly.”

Lula’s counter-offensive

Brazil has led the opposition. President Lula accused Trump of building “a new UN where only he is the owner” and coordinated pushback with China‘s Xi Jinping, who urged Lula to defend the UN’s “central role.” Lula demanded the Board limit itself to Gaza and include a Palestinian seat — conditions that were not met. His aides are particularly alarmed by Trump’s veto power over all Board decisions.

Brazil has neither accepted nor rejected its invitation. A decision may come when Lula visits Washington in March. His position reflects that of the broader BRICS coalition: engagement is possible, but only on terms that preserve multilateral institutions.

Yet the numbers are hard to argue with. In a single afternoon, the Board of Peace mobilized more funding than the UN collects in a year, secured troop commitments from five nations, and set Rafah as the first deployment zone — all while the institution it supposedly threatens struggles to collect its dues. Whether or not the Board endures beyond Trump’s presidency, it has already reshaped the question that matters: who pays for peace, and who gets to decide how it’s built. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of global affairs and Latin American financial news.

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