Benin pushes good neighborliness as a security tool at AU peace and security council meeting in New York

On the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Benin chaired the 1369th meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) in New York on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The ministerial-level session was led by Foreign Minister Corinne Amori Brunet, with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye in attendance. The meeting focused on “Good Neighborliness and Regional Responses to Security and Terrorism Challenges in Africa” and brought together representatives of PSC member states, regional organizations, and international partners.

Benin’s core argument: borders are shared spaces, not just dividing lines

Opening the session, the foreign minister placed cooperation between neighboring states at the heart of the response to threats that cross African borders. She noted that while borders mark territories and sovereignties, they also serve as spaces where people live, work, trade, and maintain family and cultural ties. When insecurity takes hold in these areas, its consequences spill beyond any single state. For Benin, good neighborliness must translate into concrete cooperation: an effective state presence, rapid information sharing, collaboration between security services and judicial authorities, and the preservation of legitimate cross-border exchanges on which local populations depend.

A continuation of Benin’s neighborhood diplomacy

This approach aligns with the neighborhood diplomacy promoted by Benin under President Romuald Wadagni, who has made dialogue with neighboring countries, security, and regional cooperation central to the country’s foreign policy. The minister stressed that this cooperation must be maintained even when political relations between states face periods of tension. For Benin, the challenge is less about creating new frameworks than about better coordinating existing mechanisms and adapting them to local realities.

Women and border communities take center stage

The session also brought the role of communities living in border areas—and particularly women—back into focus. Their knowledge of local dynamics and their proximity to communities make them essential assets for identifying tensions, contributing to prevention, and informing peace and security decisions. This priority builds on the second high-level ministerial seminar of the Swakopmund process on “Women, Peace and Security,” held in Cotonou on September 9-10, 2026. The New York meeting extends that momentum by linking women’s participation to prevention and security challenges in border territories.

What comes next

Through this ministerial meeting, Benin is advancing the priorities it championed during its September presidency of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council: crisis prevention, consideration of ground realities, increased participation of women, and strengthened cooperation between neighboring states. Benin’s diplomatic sequence in New York continues on Monday, September 28, with the foreign minister’s address to the UN General Assembly during the general debate of the 81st session.

By Claire Mvondo — Security and State Policy Expert