Tom Fletcher is the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs (OCHA). During a visit to Paris, the British diplomat, appointed to the role in 2024, responded to the first meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, held Thursday, February 19, in Washington.

The official mission of the Board of Peace, created by the US president, is to rebuild Gaza. But the board seems, at least in Trump’s mind, to have a broader mandate. Is it intended to compete with the UN?

I was in Davos [at the World Economic Forum held from January 19 to 23] a couple of weeks ago when they were convening it, and I talked a lot to the White House about the Board of Peace. In every conversation, they started by reassuring me that this is not an alternative to the UN, it’s not a threat to the UN. The UN is 193 countries, it has its charter, it’s on a completely different scale. I don’t have a problem with different groups of countries coming together to work on peace.

France has refused to participate. Is that a mistake?

I think that’s a matter for them, it’s a choice for them and I respect the decision. I was with the foreign minister [Jean-Noël Barrot]: He’s very focused on international law and international humanitarian law and very strong in his defense of the UN. That is welcome and we need it right now, because the UN is under sustained attack from so many different directions. As a result, we face a crisis of funding but also a crisis of confidence. Even in the Security Council, we have several countries there that have invaded other countries or are talking openly about invading other countries, and are challenging many of the norms on which the UN has been built. So that’s a real challenge for us.

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