US President Donald Trump has long been a vocal critic of the United Nations Security Council, arguing the organisation is not living up to its full potential.
It now appears he is trying to build his own international peacekeeping body, which he calls the "Board of Peace", to rival the UN, according to Maya Ungar, a UN analyst at the International Crisis Group.
The Board of Peace was originally designed to oversee the US President's 20-point peace plan for war-ravaged Gaza, as he tries to push the fragile ceasefire into its second phase.
But its charter does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
"Some say this is a new alternative model to the UN Security Council, others say this is a power grab from President Trump to wrest away some of the authority of other member states," Ms Ungar told the ABC.
"Many, especially here in New York [home to the UN], are quite concerned this is an effort by the US administration to supersede the power and legitimacy of the Security Council.
"Particularly, as it gives Donald Trump the power to essentially have unilateral veto of any of the decisions it makes."
Mr Trump has been inviting world leaders to join his new group, charging them $AUD1.5 billion if they want to stay in it beyond three years.
"[The Board] would embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict," the invitation to world leaders from about 60 countries said.
What is the Board of Peace?
The Board of Peace is one of four new committees named by the US to oversee the reconstruction and governance of Gaza after more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
As part of that plan, the board would supervise a technocratic Palestinian body to run the strip.
Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post this month that the Board of Peace would be the "Greatest and Most Prestigious board ever assembled at any time, any place" bringing together the "most important leaders of the most important nations".
But membership comes with a $A1.5 billion price tag if a country wants to stay in it beyond three years.
"You have this really interesting situation where Trump is asking countries to pay for membership, but it doesn't change anything about the amount of power that they have," Ms Ungar said.
"That is still going to rest with Donald Trump and the United States first and foremost."
The UN Security Council endorsed the creation of Donald Trump's Board of Peace in November to support rebuilding the Gaza strip.
About 80 per cent of the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN, and many of its two million residents are living in tents. Food is scarce, while basic healthcare and education needs are not being met.
Palestinian health authorities say that, since the October ceasefire came into effect, 460 people have been killed in Gaza.
Trump will have the final say
Mr Trump has named himself chair of the Board, which is expected to meet at least once a year.
Decisions will be made by majority vote, but they can be vetoed by the chair.
That would leave Trump to have the final say.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli peace activist and advisor to Israeli and Palestinian leaders, said Mr Trump wanted to show the world he was in charge.
"The basic concept is that Trump wants to send a message he is serious about bringing conflicts to an end and the best way for him to do that was to show he's calling the shots here," he told the ABC.
"Trump has this complex that he's going to save the world — it's not by chance the charter of the new Board of Peace mentions him specifically as the chair, not the president of the United States. It's Donald J Trump."
Who else has been invited?
Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Turkiye and Vietnam have been invited to join the board of peace, among others.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC he would "respectfully consider" the invitation, but he needed time to go through the details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is also considering the invitation, with the Kremlin saying it is studying the details of the proposal. It hopes to speak with the US to "clear all the nuances".
Dr Gershon said while Russia's invitation to the board was problematic after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it would not hold veto power in the new body despite being a permanent, veto-wielding member of the UN.
"Maybe Trump is thinking that if we want to end the war in Ukraine, we need to bring Putin in, he has to be a partner," Dr Gershon said.
"If the Board of Peace successfully brings an end to the war in Ukraine then it's a good thing, whether Putin is a member or not.
"If it actually does the job of ending wars or preventing conflicts, that's how we will judge it."
Argentina, Morocco, Hungary and Canada have already signed up.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Mr Trump had raised the concept with him weeks ago.
"We haven't gone through all the details of the structure, how it's going to work, what the financing is for, et cetera," he said.
"We will work through those in the coming days."
Trump ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on X he had "of course accepted this honourable invitation".
What can we expect from the Board of Peace?
Whether the Board of Peace becomes a genuine mechanism for rebuilding Gaza, or a parallel power structure challenging the UN, remains to be seen.
Dr Gershon said the world should "wait and see" who joined to see if it could be an effective mechanism.
"Maybe it can and then it will be something we have to take seriously and we will see it working on other conflicts," Dr Gershon said.
"My major fear is that this new body is being constructed outside the framework of international law.
"If Trump as head of the board can veto anything — that is not being guided by international law and this is the danger that it will dismantle the structure of relations between countries that has existed since the end of the Second World War."
There are several layers of bureaucracy as part of Mr Trump's Gaza plan.
Underneath the Board of Peace will be an executive board hand-picked by the US president.
It includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the White House's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair, World Bank president Ajay Banga and billionaire Marc Rowan.
Former UN official Nickolay Mladenov would also be in that group, taking on the role of High Representative for Gaza.
His work, and that of a Palestinian technocratic government working to govern Gaza, would be supported by another group — known as the Gaza Executive Board.
The make-up of that organisation has already been criticised by Mr Trump's close ally, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the announcement was made by the US without input from his government.
The sticking point for Israel is the inclusion of Türkiye Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi on the committee.
Both countries have been highly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza throughout the war.
