The European Union Special Envoy on the Darfur peace process in Sudan, Ambassador Sten Rylander, on Tuesday described the initiatives of African Union (AU) on conflict prevention as "very positive and promising."

Rylander, who was in Zimbabwe to attend a UN Peace and Development seminar, said the AU had managed to build up efficient and responsible machinery for dealing with regional conflicts.

"The AU Peace and Security Council is now firmly established and practically all African conflicts are presently subject to African-led peace processes," he said.

He said the AU started with a very clear priority on peace and security, which was a marked difference from the situation in the 1980s and 1990s when the African ownership was weak and non- Africans handled many conflicts.

"The new AU has also abandoned the old Organization of African Unity principle of non-intervention in individual AU member states. This whole development within the AU is very encouraging and gives hope for the future," Rylander said.

Apart from Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia are some of the AU members where conflicts are ongoing.

Rylander also warned that lack of consensus on UN reforms could stall global development.

Heads of States will meet in New York on September 14-16 to discuss a reform package regarding the UN and on strengthening the Millennium Development Goals.

"Instead of moving forward with vision and a spirit of compromise to achieve what could become a win-win situation for everybody, many continue to stick to their guns and to their unrealistic maximum demands," said Rylander.

He said Africa was caught up in this web "yet the continent stands to be the main loser in case the meeting fails to deliver constructive results."

Africa has strong interests in the debate at the summit. It wants equal political rights and equal economic opportunities.

Source: Xinhua