ISSAKA SOUARÉ (Guinea – Process Design) has, in the past four years, served as an independent senior governance and mediation advisor. He worked on the operationalisation of the Africa Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT), and advised, from mid-2022 to early 2023, the Trilateral Mechanism composed of the UN, AU and IGAD in their facilitation efforts of dialogue between Sudanese actors in Khartoum. He also facilitated training workshops in mediation for religious leaders in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2024 and helped them develop a mediation strategy for the region. During an earlier tenure on the SBT from 2016 to 2020 Issaka was deployed to provide operational advice to the SG’s Personal Envoy on Western Sahara and UN representatives and RCs as well as representatives of the AU in several countries, including the Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Haiti, Malawi, São Tomé and Príncipe, Togo and Zambia. Prior to joining the SBT, from 2013 to 2016, he served as Special Adviser to the AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel and was extensively involved in the Mali peace processes and its follow-up. Mr. Souaré also served as advisor with the AU High-Level Panel on Egypt in 2013 to 2014. He speaks Arabic, English and French.