Country Accession to APRM

The accession process to the APRM is governed by the Procedures for Accession to the APRM.

A country notifies the APRM Secretariat in Midrand, South Africa of its intention to accede to the APRM. The Chairperson of the APR Forum at that time then extends an invitation to the country's Head of State or Government to attend the next meeting of the APR Forum, the NEPAD Heads of State and Governing Council or AU summit. The country's representative at the meeting then signs the Memorandum of Understanding on the APRM, and this is formally accepted by the Chairperson of the APR Forum. Once the MOU has been accepted by the APR Forum, the country is officially considered to have acceded to the APRM.

The MOU is supplemented by the MOU on Technical Assessment and the Country Review Visit, which outlines the technical and logistical arrangements that a country is taking responsibility for if it accedes to the APRM. It also outlines the responsibilities of the host state during its country review visit by an APR team to assess its governance progress as well as various additional technical and logistical details, such as diplomatic immunities for the APR team and officials; accommodation and transport during review team visits; access to stakeholders, records and information; and the APR teams security and safety arrangements while in the country.