MEDIA BRIEF ON AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM (APRM) EXPERTS MEETING ON THE REVISED COUNTRY SELF-ASSESSMENT BASE QUESTIONNAIRE
ORGANIZED BY
THE AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM CONTINENTAL SECREATRIAT IN COLLABABORATION WITH THE RWANDA GOVERNANCE BOARD (RGB)
VENUE: FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
DATE: 18-22 NOVEMBER 2024
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was launched on the 09th of March 2003 by the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) in Abuja, Nigeria. It is an African-owned and African-led platform for self-assessment, peer-learning, and experience-sharing in democracy and good governance.
The Republic of Rwanda, under the leadership of H.E Paul Kagame, joined the Mechanism in 2003 becoming one of its earliest Member States. The country successfully completed its base review and was peer reviewed in 2005. Three (03) progress reports in 2006, 2008, and 2009, were then submitted highlighting significant achievements undertaken to address governance deficiencies identified in the country review report and National Plan of Action.
The Country Self-Assessment Base questionnaire consists of five thematic areas namely (i) Democracy and Political Governance (DPG), (ii) Economic Governance and Management (EGM), (iii) Corporate Governance (CG), (iv) Broad-based and Sustainable Socio-economic development (SED), and (v) State Resilience to Shocks and Disasters (SRSD). It helps Member States develop their Country Self-Assessment Reports.
In January 2016, a special Summit of the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government took several key decisions to revive and rejuvenate the APRM which led to the revisiting the APRM philosophy and the launch of the “Deepening the Review” project.
Additionally, during the 28th Summit of the African Union (AU) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the 31rst of January 2017, the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government extended the mandate of the APRM enabling it to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the continent’s blueprint -Agenda 2063- as well as the United Nations’ Agenda 2030.
Following these decisions and mandates bestowed upon the Mechanism, it was decided to revise and update the 2012 Country Self- Assessment Base Questionnaire to include prominent issues in the political, technological, social, and environmental domains globally.
Accordingly, in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the APRM Continental Secretariat embarked on the process of reviewing and refining the APRM’s tools and processes, to ensure that the Mechanism is able to discharge its expanded mandate and remains relevant in a rapidly changing world.
The APRM Continental Secretariat, in collaboration with the Rwanda Governance Board is organizing a technical enrichment and Member State sensitization workshop from 18-22 November at Four Points by Sheraton, bringing experts across the continent, to further review, update and enrich the adopted Country Self-Assessment Base Questionnaire and the two annexed tool kits focusing on Youth participation in the APRM Process and Gender equality. At the end of the workshop, it is expected that an expert-validated and enhanced Country Self-Assessment Base Questionnaire will be adopted for APRM Member States to produce comprehensive Country Self-Assessment Reports.
