By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham
Colombo, January 25 – US President Donald Trump’s policies and actions in the first year of his second term show his disdain for national and international protocols and commitments. He has set in motion processes and policies that would not only take America but also other nations back by decades. A global order is being turned upside down.
In an interview to the New York Times, Trump responded to international condemnation of his sending troops into Venezuela earlier this month to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was a violation of international law, by saying ‘ I don’ t need international law and I do not feel constrained by any international laws, norms, checks and balances.’
He said the principles of the world order, which the United States helped establish after the Second World War, are an unnecessary burden for his country. The United Nations, formed in the aftermath of the Second World War in 1945, was a pact to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in human rights and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of the international law can be maintained.
Another aim was to assist countries emerging from colonialism and becoming independent states. But, now the United Nations is being severely tested by rogue leaders and states.
During his first term (2016-2020), Trump undermined various international institutions such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, and openly engaged in aggressive activities aimed at weakening the United Nations.
There is no doubt that Trump is pursuing a strategy of undermining the United Nations to ensure that there is no obstacle to the aggressions he plans to seize other nations’ resources.
Trump, who was in Davos, Switzerland last week to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual summit, unveiled the Board of Peace ( BoP) and its charter at a separate event amid a bitter row with the countries of the European Union over his efforts to annex the Arctic island of Greenland, which belongs to Denmark.
Trump first proposed the BoP last September when he announced his plan to end the Gaza war. He later made clear the board’s remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.
While he invited world leaders to join his BoP, the diplomatic community warned that his plan would be counterproductive to the work of the United Nations. Speaking in Davos at the unveiling of the charter of the BoP, Trump made no secret of his intention of undermining the United Nations. Although many important US allies, especially those in the European Union, avoided attending the inaugural ceremony.
Trum said every country wants to be part of the board which could eventually become a rival to the United Nations.
‘ This is not about America, this is about the world. I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.’
While Trump said 59 countries have signed on to the board, representatives of only 19 countries and the US were present at the inaugural event. He also invited the leaders of countries like India, Russia and China.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, Paraguay and Hungary are among the countries that have accepted the invitation and participated.
‘You are the most powerful people in the world ‘ the US president told the delegates.
In November 2025, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution (2803) authorizing the BoP supervise the post-war reconstruction of Gaza. The resolution had imposed clear limits – end date of December 2027, unless renewed and requested six – monthly reporting to the UNSC.
These restrictions were meant to ensure that an emergency tool did not become a self – sustaining global prototype. But what Trump announced is a permanent fixture, the BoP charter emerging as the core issue.
It describes BoP as an ‘ international organisation’ seeking to promote stability, restore lawful governance and secure enduring peace in areas affected by or threatened by conflict.
The condition that countries would have to pay a USD billion to gain permanent membership in the BoP shocked world leaders and the diplomatic community. There is no mention in the Security Council resolution about the imposition of the fee.
Although the United Nations supported the original plan, it seems that the current structure and mandate of the BoP have been arbitrarily altered by the United States. Prominent international media outlets, privy to its contents, have reported that there is no mention of Gaza in the charter.
Trump has appointed himself as the chairman of the BoP. Its executive committee is filled with his family members and friends, such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Charter contains texts intended to usurp the status of the United Nations as the principal international institution for global diplomatic activity.
Despite the fact that the BoP will appoint Palestinian experts, the lack of inclusion of Palestinian leaders is an act of systematic insult to the countries that have recognized Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused by United Nations agencies of committing genocide against Palestinians, has been included in the BoP, while Palestinian President Muhammed Abbas is sidelined As a result, there is a risk that member states will agree to Trump’s reckless and unjustified decisions about the future of Palestine.
It is noteworthy that the logo of the BoP resembles that of the United Nations, except that it is entirely designed in Trump’s favourite colour gold and features the American map.
As The Guardian editorially said the BOP set up under the guise of rebuilding Gaza will be an international body to serve the aggressive designs and ego of an individual who violates the sovereignty and security of nations and believes power matters more than international law.
END
