Benin at the UN: Descendants of Enslaved Africans Can Claim Citizenship
Key Facts
- The country. Benin is a French-speaking West African nation of about 14.8 million people between Nigeria and Togo. Its economy, about US$25 billion in 2025, is under a thousandth the size of America’s.
- Why it matters. Benin’s coast, especially the town of Ouidah, was a major departure point of the transatlantic slave trade. Millions of Americans, Brazilians and Caribbeans descend from Africans shipped from this region.
- Why now. A 2024 law lets descendants of enslaved Africans claim Beninese nationality. President Romuald Wadagni, in office since May 2026, has now promoted it before the world’s governments.
- What happened. On Monday 28 September 2026, Benin’s UN ambassador, Marc Hermanne Araba, was the last speaker in the General Assembly’s annual debate and made a direct invitation to the diaspora.
- The numbers. Official ceremonies in 2026 have handed nationality certificates to 9 people in March, 22 in May and 28 on 30 July.
- What it means for you. Anyone who can document an ancestor deported in the slave trade can apply online through Benin’s official portal, myafroorigins.bj. It is a legal route, not a ceremonial title.
- Still open. Benin gave no application totals, budget or timeline. The jihadist threat on its northern borders also still limits travel and investment there.
Benin used the last slot of the UN General Assembly debate to send an invitation across the Atlantic. Descendants of Africans deported in the slave trade, it said, can reconnect with the country and claim Beninese nationality.
Benin, a small coastal state in West Africa, used its UN speech to promote Beninese nationality for the descendants of enslaved Africans. Its ambassador to the United Nations, Marc Hermanne Araba, spoke on Monday 28 September 2026, the final day of the annual debate.
The emotional core of the address was the slave trade that shipped millions from the Bight of Benin to the Americas. Benin does not want to be only ‘a land of memory’, says the official text lodged with the UN. It wants to be ‘a land of reunions and transmission’.
The invitation
Araba spoke of a history ‘of grandeur and resistance, but also tragic and painful’. He described ‘daughters and sons torn from their lands, separated from their families and dispersed across the world’.
Access to Beninese nationality under national law ‘goes beyond the administrative act alone’, the statement says. It is about rebuilding a relationship with the land of the ancestors.
His message to the diaspora was direct. ‘You are the heirs of a painful history, but you can also become the actors of a new history,’ he said.
How the citizenship law works
The legal basis is Law 2024-31 of 2 September 2024. It was amended in July 2025, and a decree sets out the procedure. It covers people whose genealogy shows a sub-Saharan African ancestor deported in the slave trade.
Applications go through the government portal myafroorigins.bj, launched in July 2025. The US singer Ciara was among the first people to become a citizen that month.
The pace has picked up this year. Nine people received certificates in March 2026, 22 in May and 28 at a ceremony in Cotonou on Thursday 30 July.
The July recipients came from Haiti, the United States and other diaspora countries. Officials say the certificate opens civic participation and lets holders pass the nationality to their children.
A policy that survived a change of president
The law was a project of Patrice Talon, who led Benin for ten years. Romuald Wadagni, his former finance minister, succeeded him on 24 May 2026.
Talon completed the administrative set-up before leaving office. The UN speech shows the new government is keeping the policy and wants the world to hear about it.
Security at the border
The rest of the address gave prominence to Benin’s northern front. ‘Terrorism strikes our sub-region,’ Araba said, warning that armed groups exploit weak spots and porous borders.
He called for prevention, early warning, better intelligence sharing and cross-border cooperation with neighbours. He also argued that education, jobs and infrastructure for young people are part of security.
Northern Benin, home to the W and Pendjari national parks, has suffered repeated jihadist attacks spilling over from Burkina Faso and Niger. Local coverage of the speech also stressed its call for regional security cooperation.
Money, climate and AI
Benin joined other African states in asking for finance that is ‘more accessible, more predictable and better adapted’ to poorer countries. It also backed Africa’s long-standing demand for permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
On climate, the line was memorable: ‘We do not ask for a right to pollute. We ask for a right to development.’
On artificial intelligence, Benin warned of a new dependency if Africa stays ‘only a consumer’ of foreign technology. It asked for inclusive global rules that treat Africa as a place of creation too.
What this means for the diaspora, expats and investors
For descendants of enslaved Africans in the Americas, this is one of Africa’s most concrete ‘roots’ offers. The UN speech signals that it is active policy, not a forgotten statute.
Benin is also one of West Africa’s faster-growing economies, with World Bank data showing growth of about 8 percent in 2025. Its main port in Cotonou serves Nigeria and landlocked neighbours.
The caveat is the north. Anyone planning travel or projects near the Burkina Faso and Niger borders should weigh the jihadist risk Benin itself raised.
What is not known
The speech gave no figures: no total of applications, no budget for diaspora outreach and no timeline for new measures. Benin also did not name the armed groups behind the northern attacks.
It remains unclear how many applicants have been refused, and how long a typical file takes. Further ceremonies are scheduled for late 2026 and early 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Benin offer the African diaspora at the UN?
In its UN General Assembly speech on 28 September 2026, Benin invited descendants of enslaved Africans to claim citizenship under its law. It presented this as rebuilding a bond with the land of their ancestors.
Who qualifies for Beninese nationality as an Afro-descendant?
People whose genealogy shows a sub-Saharan African ancestor deported in the slave trade can apply. Applications are filed through the official portal myafroorigins.bj, under a law passed in September 2024.
Why is Benin linked to the slave trade?
Benin’s coast, especially the town of Ouidah, was a major departure point of the transatlantic slave trade. The country now presents itself as a land of memory and of reunions.
What else did Benin say at the UN?
It warned that terrorism is spreading in its region and called for cross-border cooperation. It also asked for fairer development finance, a right to development on climate and inclusive global rules on artificial intelligence.
Sources
UN General Assembly — Statement of Benin, 81st session (28 September 2026, PDF, French) · Wikipedia — General debate of the 81st UN General Assembly, speaking list for 28 September · Benin Web TV — Benin at the UN rostrum (28 September 2026) · Benin Web TV — 28 Afro-descendants receive nationality certificates in Cotonou · Benin Web TV — Talon completes the Afro-descendant nationality set-up before leaving office · Benin Web TV — Inauguration speech of President Romuald Wadagni · Government of Benin — My Afro Origins, Afro-descendant nationality portal · World Bank — Benin data (population, GDP, growth)
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