The Vatican has confirmed it will not participate in US President Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace” initiative, citing concerns over the board’s structure and the proper role of international organisations in crisis management.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomatic official, said on Tuesday that the Holy See would abstain because of the board’s “particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States.” He added that, at the international level, “it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations,” a point the Vatican has consistently emphasised.

Pope Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies, was invited to join the board in January. The initiative was initially intended to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance following the fragile ceasefire achieved in October under Trump’s Gaza plan. Trump later expanded the board’s mandate to address global conflicts, with the first meeting scheduled in Washington on Thursday to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction.

Several countries, including Italy and the European Union, have indicated that their representatives will attend as observers rather than board members. Critics have argued that a US-led board supervising a foreign territory resembles a colonial structure and have noted the absence of a Palestinian representative in the board.

Experts and governments have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation, warning that the board could undermine the role of the United Nations. Washington’s Middle Eastern allies have joined, but many Western allies have stayed away.

The Gaza ceasefire has been repeatedly violated, with hundreds of Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since October. Israel’s military operations have caused over 72,000 deaths, widespread hunger, and internal displacement of Gaza’s population. Multiple rights experts and a UN inquiry have described the campaign as amounting to genocide, though Israel maintains it is acting in self-defense after Hamas-led attacks in late 2023 that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

Pope Leo has frequently decried the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, he rarely joins international boards, instead relying on the Vatican’s extensive diplomatic service, which serves as a permanent observer at the United Nations. (Arise News)