Rights groups say Mark Carney should not join US plan for Gaza that ‘makes a mockery of Palestinian self-determination’.
Canadian human rights groups have welcomed Donald Trump Decision to cancel An invitation to Prime Minister Mark Carney to join the United States President’s so-called Peace Council, urging Canada not to participate in the “colonial scheme”.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said Friday it was “a relief that Canada is no longer welcome” on the Trump-led board.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
“At a time of mass war crimes and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Canada must seek to align itself with international law and human rights,” said the group on social media.
“‘Board of Peace’ makes a mockery of Palestinian self-determination and Canada should have nothing to do with it.”
That was echoed by the advocacy group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), which said Carney’s participation would have given the board “undue legitimacy”.
“Canadians want to see a principled opposition to Trump’s power grab, not a mixed message,” the organization said on X.
Trump announced late Thursday that he had withdrawn the invitation to join Carney, who had been told by the US president.The most distinguished group of leaders ever, ever assembled”.
On that day, Trump Signing ceremony At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to unveil the Charter of the Peace Council with the leaders of many participating countries.
Washington has presented the initiative as a key part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 71,500 people since October 2023.
The US has named senior Trump administration officials and other world leaders to a board that will oversee a Palestinian technocratic committee to manage day-to-day affairs in Gaza.
The team of the President of the United States also A Reconstruction plan For the enclave, it said on Thursday that investments worth several crores of dollars would be secured.
But Palestinians have criticized the Trump administration’s push for failing to give them a real say in the future of the Palestinian territories.
He has condemned the board’s inclusion of staunch supporters of Israel, as well as Israelis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuwho faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
“The announced reconstruction plan will not compensate the Palestinians for what they have lost and what they need,” Gaza resident Mohammad Shamalkh told Al Jazeera.
“I want to remove the toxins from the debris first, and then I want to rebuild my house as it was before.”
Another resident, Nimer Matar, also said, “The reconstruction we want is going back home … to rebuild what was bombed.”
Trump did not say why Carney’s invitation to join the Peace Council was rescinded.
But the move comes days after the Canadian prime minister said during a well-received speech In Davos, the US-led world order faced a moment of “rupture” between coercion and threats.
The Canadian prime minister’s remarks drew the ire of Trump, who warned Carney in his own Davos speech that “Canada lives because of America”.
“Mark, remember that next time you make your statements,” the Republican leader said.
There is tension between the allies for a long time mounted for months Trump’s push to impose stiff tariffs on Canadian goods and repeated threats to make Canada the “51st state” of the US.