Lula, Macron push for stronger UN to face Trump 'Board of Peace'

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and France's Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday defended the United Nations in the wake of US President Donald Trump's creation of a "Board of Peace."

Both Brazil and France were invited by Trump to join his new global conflict resolution organization, to be headed by Trump himself.

France has already declined the invitation.

The leftist Lula has echoed concerns that Trump is seeking to create a rival to the UN "where he is the owner." 

In a phone call on Monday, he asked Trump to limit the activities of the "Board of Peace" to Gaza and "include a seat for Palestine."

In a separate call on Tuesday, Lula and Macron "defended the strengthening of the United Nations" and agreed that "peace and security initiatives must be in line with the mandates of the (UN) Security Council," Brazil's presidency said.

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Trump launched his "Board of Peace" initiative last week in Davos, flanked by allies including Hungary's Viktor Orban and Argentina's Javier Milei.

Although originally intended to oversee Gaza's rebuilding, its charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.

Permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a "pay to play" version of the UN Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, has said he will join.

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