Mary Robinson has said the US proposal for a Board of Peace is not genuinely about peace, describing it instead as “the board of the power of one person”, reports RTE.
Mrs Robinson is part of the Elders, a collective of former world leaders who advocate for human rights globally, reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mrs Robinson said the Board of Peace is “a delusion of power” driven by US President Donald Trump.
Mrs Robinson previously served as president of Ireland and as UN high commissioner for human rights, reports RTE.
“He’s had the power of the United States of America unfettered within the country and outside the country. And we’re seeing what that means,” she said.
Mrs Robinson said the United Nations should not be scrapped, but she added that reform is necessary, something the Elders have been urging for many years, reports RTE.
She said the Board of Peace charter makes no reference to Gaza, despite that being the initial mandate approved by the UN, which she said was “bullied” into accepting the proposal.
“There’s no doubt that the members of the Security Council were kind of bullied into agreeing this, the way it can happen. But they didn’t agree to this Board of Peace, reports RTE.
“They agreed to a Board of Peace to implement the 20 stage phases of the peace plan of Gaza.
“There’s no mention of Gaza, and there’s no mention of a mandate from the UN in the Charter, reports RTE.
“So it’s nothing to do, this Board of Peace has nothing to do with that. It’s a much more general board as I said, of the power of one person”.
Addressing the question of Ireland joining the Board of Peace, she said there was no justification for Ireland’s involvement, asking, “how could any self-respecting country?”, reports RTE.
She said the global order is experiencing a “one-man rupture”, adding that Mr Trump is “power obsessed”, which she warned poses serious risks internationally.
“When President Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, and he’s now pulled out of the UNFCCC and all the other agencies and international bodies that he pulled out of, no other country is following him, reports RTE.
“And so, the fact that he bullies and uses tariffs and disinvites (Canadian Prime Minister Mark) Carney for that speech and wants to put 100% tariff on Canada, he has become power obsessed now.
“And that is very dangerous for the world, but it doesn’t mean that the whole rules-based system is gone, reports RTE.
“It needs stronger, active support, especially from middle and smaller countries who depend on it.”
She added: “We need to depend for the future of peace on our planet to make sure the rules-based system survives this power crazy man, which he is”, reports RTE.
Speaking about events in Minnesota, Mrs Robinson said the Trump administration had deployed “a barrage of lies” to obscure facts in an effort to confuse the public, but she said video evidence exposes the truth.
She added that she had “certainly seen the elements that were certainly what built up fascism in Germany [in the 1930s], reports RTE.
“The elements are there, there’s no doubt about it.”
Israel agrees to reopen Rafah only for Gaza pedestrians
Meanwhile, Israel said it would permit only pedestrian movement through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of what it described as a “limited reopening”, once the remains of the final hostage in Gaza are recovered, reports RTE.
The reopening of Rafah, a crucial gateway for humanitarian aid into Gaza, is included in a truce framework announced by Mr Trump in October, though the crossing has remained shut since Israeli forces seized control during the war.
US envoys visiting the region reportedly urged Israeli officials to reopen the crossing during meetings held in Jerusalem over the weekend, reports RTE.
International leaders and humanitarian groups have repeatedly called for increased aid access to Gaza, which has been severely damaged by more than two years of conflict and relies heavily on deliveries of food, medicine and other essential supplies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had agreed to reopen the crossing “for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism”, reports RTE.
The statement said the move would be conditional on “the return of all living hostages and a 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages”.
It was still unclear whether the reopening would allow ill or injured Gazans to leave for medical treatment in Egypt or elsewhere, reports RTE.
The Israeli military said it was searching a Gaza cemetery on Sunday for the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili.
“Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing,” said Mr Netanyahu’s office, reports RTE.
The announcement followed comments by Gaza’s newly appointed administrator, Ali Shaath, who said the crossing would open “in both directions” later this week.
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