New Zealand will not be joining US President Donald Trump's board of peace, the Prime Minister has said.
An invite to join the board, chaired by Trump, was sent to PM Christopher Luxon, who initially said he would give it "due consideration".
This morning, Luxon said the Government had considered the invitation but decided not to join "in its current form".
The board was originally set up to be a small group of world leaders to oversee Trump's plans for Gaza, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect. Its scope changed, however, when the US President showed ambition to turn it into a mediator in global conflicts.
Trump has described it as a "bold new approach to resolving global conflict".
Invitations were sent to dozens of world leaders, but several major countries, including China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom, declined to sign or have not indicated if they would.
Trump's move has been seen by some as a challenge to the United Nations but that his move has backfired.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has tried to ease concerns, saying the board's focus was still on the next phases of the Gaza ceasefire plan.
"This is not a replacement for the UN, but the UN has served very little purpose in the case of Gaza other than the food assistance," he said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the "basic responsibility for international peace and security lies" with the UN.
"Only the Security Council can adopt decisions binding on all, and no other body or other coalition can legally be required to have all member states comply with decisions on peace and security."
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a post to X that several states had stepped up to contribute to the Board's role in Gaza, and "New Zealand would not add significant further value to that".
He said it was important that the Board's work was "complementary to and consistent" with the UN Charter for Gaza.
"It is a new body, and we need clarity on this, and on other questions relating to its scope, now and in the future."
Peters said New Zealand would continue to "monitor developments".
Labour leader Chris Hipkins previously said that even considering joining the Board was an "absolute embarrassment and an absolute disgrace on New Zealand".
"Donald Trump does not respect anybody who just simply sucks up to him. He doesn't respect anybody else, regardless," he told RNZ.
"New Zealand has to be principled, we have to be consistent. We have a very strong reputation around the world for being consistent and principled in our foreign policy - all of that is being thrown away by this Government."
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