Can a single speech at the United Nations change the trajectory of regional security? Chad’s recent appearance at the 81st UN General Assembly suggests it might try. Dr. Abdelmadjid Abdelrahim Mahamat, the country’s minister of public health and prevention, took the podium on behalf of President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno to spotlight Chad’s diplomatic and humanitarian contributions — and to issue a stark warning.

A message of commitment and concern

The address underscored Chad’s central role in stabilizing a troubled neighborhood. Mahamat drew attention to the fragile Lake Chad basin and urged developed nations to fulfill their financial pledges for climate adaptation and resilience. On security, he highlighted Chad’s significant peacekeeping footprint, including the deployment of 1,500 troops to Haiti as part of a UN Security Council-authorized force.

Humanitarian pressure at the borders

The minister also painted a grim picture of the humanitarian situation along Chad’s frontiers. The country hosts over two million displaced people, among them more than a million Sudanese refugees who have fled the conflict since April 2023. While reaffirming Chad’s strict neutrality in the Sudanese war and its backing of peace initiatives, the government sounded an alarm: it condemned in the strongest terms recent airstrikes in the Ennedi-Est province, calling them an unacceptable violation of territorial integrity and reserving the right to retaliate if they recur.

Broader international stands

Beyond regional matters, Chad weighed in on global issues, rejecting acts of aggression against sovereign states — from Iran to the Gulf, Gaza and Cuba. It restated its support for a two-state solution in the Middle East and for deep reforms of multilateralism.