BOXES 1.1 The APRM progress report .............................................................................. 33 2.1 Chronology of the main political events in Benin ........................................... 48 2.2 The National and Sovereign Conference of the Bone and Sinew of the Nation ............................................................................................................... 54 3.1 Towards harmonious coexistence between traditional and modern governance ....................................................................................................... 69 3.2 The Charter of Political Parties: a suitable but ineffective legal framework ........................................................................................................ 76 3.3 Mastering the financing of elections ................................................................ 78 3.4 The government’s working charter .................................................................. 93 3.5 Presidential leadership ..................................................................................... 94 3.6 The case of the embezzled legal fees ............................................................... 97 3.7 An efficient public service ............................................................................. 100 3.8 Towards effective contribution by the diaspora to development projects ..... 102 3.9 Reasons for the low representation of women in the principal decisionmaking bodies ................................................................................................ 113 3.10 Women and politics ....................................................................................... 114 3.11 Combating child trafficking in Benin ............................................................ 122 4.1 The cotton sector ............................................................................................ 141 4.2 Current practice in developing the MTEF in Benin ....................................... 147 4.3 Emerging Benin: an original vision ............................................................... 155 4.4 Legal and institutional framework for public procurement ........................... 165 4.5 Status of Benin’s adherence to the convergence plan in the WAEMU zone ................................................................................................................ 176 5.1 Creation of enterprises by young people ....................................................... 191 5.2 Difficulties of the informal sector .................................................................. 196 5.3 Benin’s famous women traders, the ‘Mamas Benz’ ...................................... 198 5.4 The Jeune Chambre Internationale Soleil Bénin ........................................... 199 5.5 The ANPE ...................................................................................................... 220 6.1 The promotion of self-reliance depends on a substantial reduction in external aid ..................................................................................................... 246 6.2 Poverty in Benin ............................................................................................ 250 6.3 Universal education as defined by the MDGs ............................................... 258 6.4 Problems regarding the education and enrolment of girls ............................. 260 6.5 The promotion of reproductive health ........................................................... 262 6.6 The National Solidarity Fund ......................................................................... 263 6.7 Functions of gender focal points .................................................................... 275 6.8 Summary of the Paris Declaration ................................................................. 284 GOOD PRACTICES 1.1 The extensive APRM national consultation process ....................................... 36 1.2 Personal involvement of the president of the republic ..................................... 42 3.1 Framework for interfaith consultation ............................................................. 73 3.2 Compliance with the electoral timetable for presidential and legislative elections ........................................................................................................... 77 3.3 Democratic changeover at the helm of affairs: expressing a shared culture of democracy, tolerance and fair play .............................................................. 79 3.4 The Constitutional Court of Benin, efficiency in the service of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental liberties ......................................................... 90 vii

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