DAVOS, Jan. 23 (Al Jazeera): United States President Donald Trump has formally announced the charter of his so-called Board of Peace, a body for resolving international conflicts with a $1bn price tag for permanent membership.

The board, which Trump launched in a signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on the strip.

But it appears the board, whose 11-page charter does not mention Gaza once, has morphed into something far more ambitious with the US leader saying it may extend its work to other global crises, a role traditionally performed by the United Nations.

“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do,” Trump claimed on stage at the World Economic Forum before signing documents formally establishing the initiative. He was joined on stage by leaders, foreign ministers and other top officials representing 19 other countries, including Argentina, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Hungary, Morocco, Bahrain, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Some fear the Board of Peace will undermine the UN. Trump appeared to touch on those concerns in his opening remarks at the ceremony, saying the initiative would “work with many others, including the United Nations”, also listing other important diplomatic issues around the world.

“I’ve always said the United Nations has got tremendous potential, has not used it,” Trump said.

He praised the work of US officials involved in the project for their efforts in establishing a ceasefire in Gaza. “We have peace in the Middle East. Nobody thought that was possible.”

He added that the board was going to be “very successful in Gaza” and “we can spread out to other things as we succeed with Gaza”.

Photo from AFP