Lula da Silva and Macron criticized Trump's 'Committee for Peace': A rival to the UN is being created

(Patria) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday defended the United Nations after US President Donald Trump established a "Committee for Peace", AFP reported.

Trump invited both Brazil and France to join his new global conflict resolution organization, which will be personally led by Trump. France has already rejected the invitation.

The leftist Lula reiterated concerns that Trump is trying 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 "Committee for Peace" to Gaza and to "include a place for Palestine".

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

Trump launched his "Committee for Peace" initiative last week in Davos, with allies including Viktor Orban of Hungary and Javier Milei of Argentina. Although initially intended to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, its charter does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.

Permanent members must pay one billion dollars to join, leading to criticism that the committee could become a "pay-to-play" version of the UN Security Council.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war in Gaza, said he would join the aforementioned committee.