On October 28, 2020, El-Ghassim Wane, the former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Mali and Head of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), was a guest at IFSH. During his visit to PRIF's African Intervention Politics Research Group led by Antonia Witt, Mr. Wane provided insights into the operational and political challenges of the MINUSMA mission as well as the current situation in Mali and the Sahel, and discussed lessons for the future of UN peace operations. The conversation took place under the Chatham House Rule.

El-Ghassim Wane brings over 25 years of experience in conflict prevention, mediation and peacekeeping. Prior to MINUSMA, he served as Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser to the Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2017 to 2019 and as UN Deputy Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2016 to 2017. He contributed to the development of the African Union's key strategy and policy on conflict prevention and resolution and was involved in prevention, mediation and peace consolidation processes across the continent. In October 2024, El-Ghassim Wane was a fellow at the University of Leipzig in the ANCIP competence network, which is jointly run with PRIF and the University of Duisburg-Essen. In an exchange with the African Intervention Politics research group, El-Ghassim Wane discussed current challenges of non-military interventions on the African continent and supported the group's ongoing research with his extensive practical experience.