After Benin’s UN security council session: the debate over good neighborliness and what happens next

Benin’s decision to put good neighborliness at the heart of Africa’s security response is now drawing reactions and raising a forward-looking question: can cooperation between bordering states actually change the trajectory of terrorism and instability across the continent? The ministerial session held at the United Nations in New York has triggered a broader debate about prevention, border communities and the role of women in peace efforts.

Benin chairs a high-level security meeting in New York

On the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Benin presided over the 1369th meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in New York. The session was held at ministerial level and was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Corinne Amori Brunet. It took place in the presence of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye.

The meeting was dedicated to the theme “Good neighborliness and regional responses to security and terrorism challenges in Africa.” It brought together representatives of PSC member states, regional organizations and international partners.

Why borders are also spaces of everyday life

Opening the discussions, the Minister of Foreign Affairs placed cooperation between neighboring states at the center 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 the boundaries of a 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 diplomacy shaped by regional dialogue

This approach is part of a broader neighborhood diplomacy promoted by Benin under the leadership of President Romuald Wadagni, who has made dialogue with neighboring countries, security and regional cooperation key pillars of the country’s foreign policy.

The Minister also stressed that this cooperation must be preserved even when political relations between states go through periods of tension. For Benin, the challenge is less about creating new frameworks than about better coordinating existing mechanisms and adapting them to the realities on the ground.

The role of border communities and women takes center stage

The session also brought the role of communities living in border areas back into the discussion, with particular attention to women. Their knowledge of local realities and their proximity to communities are seen as essential assets for identifying tensions, helping to prevent them and informing decisions on peace and security.

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 and 10, 2026. The New York meeting extends that momentum by linking women’s participation to prevention and security issues in border territories.

What comes next after the PSC presidency

Through this ministerial meeting, Benin is continuing the priorities it championed during its September presidency of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council: crisis prevention, recognition of ground-level realities, greater participation of women and stronger cooperation between neighboring states.

The fallout from the session is expected to be felt in how regional bodies and member states translate these commitments into practice. The diplomatic sequence in New York will continue on Monday, September 28, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs addressing the United Nations General Assembly during the general debate of the 81st session.

By Daniel Mbami — Politics and Security