"AU should give African trade unions a role to make peace and arbitrate conflicts," said Guillaume Attigbe, interim African regional president for the International Free Trade Unions-Africa Regional Organisation (ICFTU-AFRO).

"Due to our expertise in conflict management, we can help the AU to avert and solve the conflicts besetting Africa, notably in the Great Lakes Region," Attigbe told AFP here.

AU official Al-Ghassim Wane said the body would look at the request. "Trade Unions are well placed to play a vital role in reconciliation processes, as their memberships straddle ethnic, cultural and religious borders," he said.

Head of Belgian trade unions Daniel van Daele also pledged the support of the Belgian government and Belgian trade unions on ICFTU-AFRO's quest for a role in conflict resolution on the continent.

"The Belgian government and trade unions are ready to offer support," Daele said after a three-day ICFTU-AFRO conference on the role of African Trade Unions in helping to resolve conflicts in the Great Lakes Region, which brought together 40 mainly African trade union leaders.

WAR.WIRE