What if the most effective answer to Africa’s cross-border security threats isn’t a new military alliance or a fresh intervention force, but something far simpler: good neighborliness? That is the strategic dilemma Benin placed at the center of a ministerial-level meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council at the United Nations in New York on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
Benin takes the chair: the 1369th AU peace and security council session
Chaired by Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Corinne Amori Brunet, the 1369th meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council brought together representatives from Council member states, regional organizations and international partners. Among those present were Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
The session’s theme — “Good neighborliness and regional responses to security and terrorism challenges in Africa” — set the tone for a debate that went beyond conventional security thinking.
Why borders are more than lines on a map
Opening the discussions, Minister Amori Brunet reframed the way African borders should be understood. While they mark territories and sovereignties, she noted, they are also living spaces — places where people work, trade, and maintain family and cultural ties. When insecurity takes hold in these areas, its effects inevitably spill beyond any single state’s boundaries.
For Benin, good neighborliness must translate into practical cooperation: a visible state presence, rapid information sharing, coordination between security services and judicial authorities, and the preservation of legitimate cross-border trade on which local communities depend.
A foreign policy rooted in dialogue with neighbors
This approach reflects the broader neighborhood diplomacy championed by Benin under President Romuald Wadagni, who has placed dialogue with neighboring countries, security and regional cooperation among the pillars of the country’s foreign policy.
The Minister emphasized that this cooperation must be protected even when political relations between states enter periods of tension. For Benin, the challenge is not to create new frameworks but to better coordinate existing mechanisms and adapt them to the realities on the ground.
The overlooked role of border communities — and women in particular
The session also brought border communities back into the spotlight, with particular attention to the role of women. Their intimate knowledge of local realities 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 9 and 10 September 2026. The New York meeting extends that momentum by linking women’s participation to prevention and security challenges in border areas.
What comes next: Benin’s diplomatic sequence continues
Through this ministerial meeting, Benin is advancing the priorities it pursued during its September presidency of the AU Peace and Security Council: crisis prevention, grounding decisions in field realities, greater participation of women, and stronger cooperation between neighboring states.
Benin’s diplomatic sequence in New York continues on Monday, 28 September, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs will address the United Nations General Assembly during the general debate of its 81st session.
