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Review

The APRM process, as outlined in the APRM core document, follows five stages:

  1. The country under review, with the assistance of the APR Secretariat, prepares an up-to-date background document (also referred to as a self-assessment) on the democratic, political, economic, corporate and social conditions in the country. This process is meant to include consultations with the widest possible number of stakeholders in the country, including government and state officials, business, labour, civil society and non-state institutions, the media and private citizens. Additionally, the report should include a clear and detail Programme of Action, outlining the steps the country will take to address the challenges facing it, and a strategy for improving the quality of the country's governance practices.
  2. The country is visited by the APR Team, and is responsible for ensuring that the APR Team is enabled to carry out a review smoothly and with full access to all sources of information and stakeholders as are deemed necessary by the APR Team. These conditions are described in the MOU on Technical Assessment and the Country Review Visit .
  3. The APR Team prepares and drafts a country report, based on the findings of the APR Secretariat (Stage 1) and the country visit (Stage 2). This report is attached to the country's self-assessment report with comments on the Teams findings regarding the integrity of the country's self-assessment and the comments and submissions it received directly from national stakeholders during its visit.
  4. The APR Team submits the report to the APR Panel, who are then responsible for reviewing the both reports in accordance with its mandate. Once this has been done to the satisfaction of the Panel, it submits its recommendations, along with the country report to the APR Forum. The APR Forum then considers both the report and the recommendations submitted, and decides what further action to take according to its mandate.
  5. The country report is made accessible to the public, as well as those recommendations of the APR Panel that have been deemed appropriate by the APR Forum. The report is tabled formally and publicly at all regional and continental organisations, such as the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the African Union and the Regional Economic Community of the region in which the country is a member.

For more information see Stages of APR Process.