SUDAN BEST PRACTICES a. National Dialogue in Sudan: In January 2014, H. E. Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, made a groundbreaking policy declaration of intent to convene a dialogue to end all conflicts, violence and tensions; reject ethnicity, tribalism and regionalism in favour of national unity; promote reconciliation and peace; and draft a permanent constitution. That National Dialogue Conference started in October 2015 and ended in October 2016. Some key characteristics of the National Dialogue recommend it highly as a mechanism for conflict resolution and peace building. It is the most comprehensive gathering of all Sudanese stakeholders to date in search of peace and national unity. It had the most comprehensive agenda for peace talks in the history of Sudan to date. The National Dialogue also had the most inclusive participation. Remarkably, 98% of its 944 recommendations were unanimously adopted, reflecting the most consensual agreement on peace and national unity by the Sudanese to date. b. Good conflict resolution with Chad: The hostility between Sudan and Chad ended well and there is the successful experience of the joint Sudanese-Chadian army for border oversight, with exchange of commanders every six months. This not only brought an end to hostility between the two neighbouring countries, but also curtailed arms smuggling and human trafficking, and promoted inter-border trade. c. Decentralisation: As Sudan endeavoured in recent years to reconstruct governance to achieve peace and stability, it has embarked on a programme of decentralization, through which power is being devolved to states, local governments and traditional institutions. This principle of decentralization also covers the social sectors, including health services, water supply, power, basic education and basic health care for primary health services as expressed in the Federal Ministry of Health (GMoH) 25-Year Strategy. The main objective is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), contribute to poverty reduction, and improve equity across and within states, and among vulnerable groups. This is a programme that is still unfolding operationally, but the institutional framework is in place and the Government is striving to implement it effectively. d. Women’s political participation: Sudan has signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights of Women in Africa (2003), and women in Sudan have attained higher levels of political participation than women in many African countries that have signed and ratified CEDAW. Women’s political participation has risen steadily since the 2008 Electoral Act reserved 25% of elective seats in the National Assembly for women. In 2015, the percentage was increased to 30%, following a constitutional amendment. The actual proportion of women in Parliament after the 2015 general elections stands at 30.5%. Sudan’s National Assembly has two Deputy Speakers, both of them women. e. Tripartism and Social Dialogue in Sudan: Tripartism covers negotiation, consultation and information exchange between and among the different actors; collective bargaining; dispute prevention and resolution; and other instruments of social dialogue, including corporate social responsibility and international framework agreements. A higher council with a tripartite configuration (government, employers and workers) was formed as a result of negotiations the Trade Unions had with the State and this Council has been working for more than twenty years. Besides, the Trade Unions were represented in legislatures at the national level as follows: labour union is represented on the consultative councils for ministers, and on the committees for drafting and amending labour laws; workers are represented on management boards of government bodies and institutions. Consultations have made it possible to limit social conflicts and to bring about important reforms, including the revision of the 1995 Public Service Act in May 2007 and the 1997 Labour Law. f. 16 Streamlined procurement procedures: One of the key outputs of the Public Sector Reform, Decentralization, and Capacity Building Programme Support Project was the Standard Bidding Document (SBD) and subsequent procurement manual, which were formally accepted by Sudan’s Finance Ministry. The manual and SBD comprised Sudan’s first ever-uniform procurement procedures and forms. Prior to this, each ministry had its separate procurement policies and documents. The adoption and implementation of SBD and the procurement manual across all government ministries, has a great potential to streamline the