Brazilian President Lula criticises Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ as an attempt to forge a rival UN, defending multilateralism against ‘law of the jungle’.
BRASÍLIA: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Donald Trump on Friday of trying to create “a new UN” with his proposed “Board of Peace.”
The veteran leftist said Trump’s new global conflict resolution organisation, where a permanent seat costs USD 1 billion and the chairman is Trump himself, was an attempt to replace the existing United Nations.
“Instead of fixing” the United Nations, “what’s happening? President Trump is proposing to create a new UN where only he is the owner,” Lula said.
He defended multilateralism against what he called “the law of the jungle” in global affairs.
Lula’s remarks come a day after he spoke by phone with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who urged his counterpart to safeguard the “central role” of the United Nations.
In his remarks, Lula said “the UN charter is being torn.”
Trump unveiled his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, joined on stage by leaders and officials from 19 countries to sign its founding charter.
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory and appears to want to rival the United Nations.
Key US allies including France and Britain have also expressed doubts about the initiative.
London balked at the inclusion of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022.
France said the charter as it currently stood was “incompatible” with its international commitments, especially its UN membership.
