DECISION ON THE REPORT OF THE AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM
(APRM)
Doc. Assembly/AU/11 (XXXIII)
The Assembly,
TAKES NOTE of the Report of the 29th Summit of the African Peer Review Forum of Heads of State and Government of the Participating States to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) held on 8 February 2020;
CONGRATULATES H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa for his election as the new Chairperson of the African Peer Review (APR) Forum of Heads of State and Government, and COMMENDS H.E. Idriss Deby Itno, President of the Republic of Chad, for his sterling leadership of the mechanism, including ensuring financial sustainability through the full integration of the APRM budget into the AU overall statutory budget; conducted five (5) country reviews; conducted four (4) targeted reviews; accession to the APRM of more AU Member States and the preparation and presentation of the African Governance Report to the Assembly;
RECALLS Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.198 (XI) in which the Assembly decided that APRM structures, namely the APRM Forum, the APRM Panel and the APRM Secretariat shall be part of the processes and structures of the African Union, and Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.527(XXIII) on the integration of the APRM into the African Union system, in which the Assembly decided that the APRM shall be an autonomous entity within the AU system;
FURTHER RECALLS Decision Ext/Assembly/AU/Dec.1-4(XI), in which the Assembly decided to integrate the APRM budget in the Statutory Union budget funded by Member States, and reaffirmed the need to strengthen the capacity of the APRM to deliver on its extended mandate and enhance its functional autonomy;
ACKNOWLEDGES WITH APPRECIATION progress made in the implementation of the integration of the APRM into the AU, including the full integration of the APRM budget into the 2020 AU budget, and adoption of the provisional organizational structure of the APRM Continental Secretariat, as well as the adoption of the APRM Draft Legal Instruments on the integration into the AU;
COMMENDS the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E Moussa Faki, and the Chief Executive Officer of the APRM Continental Secretariat, Prof. Eddy Maloka, for their steadfast and sustained efforts in fast tracking the integration of the APRM into the AU system;
FURTHER COMMENDS the APRM for implementing the expanded mandate that covers all Member States of the AU conferred on it by the Assembly;
REITERATES Decision Ext/Assembly/AU/Dec.1-4(XI), in which the Assembly reaffirmed the need to strengthen the capacity of the APRM to deliver on its expanded mandate and enhance its functional autonomy;
STRESSESS the need for the APRM to be provided with adequate and sufficient human resources and budget allocations so as to execute its mandate without hindrance and enhance its functional autonomy;
WELCOMES WITH APPRECIATION the Peer Review Report of the Arab Republic of Egypt and congratulates H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for his steadfast and sustained leadership in promotion of good governance in his country and on the continent;
ACKNOWLEDGES WITH APPRECIATION the targeted review reports of the Republic of Djibouti, and the Republic of Namibia, and EXPRESSES gratitude to H.E. Ismail Omar GUELLEH, President of the Republic of Djibouti, and H.E. Hage GEINGOB, President of the Republic of Namibia for their dedication to the cause of good governance with all its four manifestations including sustainable and broad-based socio- economic development;
ENCOURAGES the Arab Republic of Egypt to take into account observations of Members States on the country review presented to the 29th APR Forum as well as the recommendations contained in the Report in the development and implementation of the National Programme of Action as a necessary step in furthering the goals and objectives of the APRM;
URGES the Republic of Djibouti and the Republic of Namibia to consider the recommendations of Member States on their targeted review reports presented to the 29th APR Forum including the recommendations contained in reports in the development and implementation of their National Programme of Actions as a necessary step towards attaining sustainable and broad-based socio-economic development;
CONGRATULATES the Panel of Eminent Persons that led the conduct of the country review of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the conduct of the targeted review of the Republic of Djibouti, for their resilience and commitment to the APRM review process;
ENCOURAGES APRM Participating States that have not been peer reviewed to take the necessary measures to ensure that country peer reviews are undertaken and their reports are presented to the APR Forum;
FURTHER URGES APRM Participating States that have been reviewed to implement their National Plans of Action and recommendations to inform institutional reform at national level and avert highlighted challenges in their peer reviews;
TAKES NOTE WITH APPRECIATION of an update Report by H.E. Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Prime Minister of the Republic Sudan, on the reforms aimed at improving governance in the country including of the preparation of the APRM National Progress Report;
REAFFIRMS the solidarity of the AU with the Sudanese people and the Transitional Government in their aspiration to attain constitutional order that will enable them to make progress in their efforts towards the peace, stability, good governance, democratic transformation and sustainable development;
FURTHER TAKES NOTE WITH SATISFACTION the Report by H E. Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda on the 13 Bottlenecks to Africa’s Development; REQUEST APRM PARTICIPATING STATES to volunteer for the pilot phase of rolling out the study;
SUPPORTS the decision of the 29th APR Forum of Heads of State and Government for the APRM to organise an African Migration Governance Conference focusing on migration governance and sharing of best practices amongst AU Member States, and REQUESTS the APRM to organise the African Migration Governance Conference in collaboration with the AU Commission and relevant stakeholders;
FURTHER SUPPORTS the decision of the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government to convene an Extraordinary APR Forum Summit on deepening the review during the first half year of 2020;
CONGRATULATES the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Seychelles for their accession as new members of the APRM;
EXPRESSES APPRECIATION to H.E. Danny Faure, President of the Republic of Seychelles, and H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe for their courageous decision in joining the APRM, the premier homegrown, African good governance mechanism;
ENCOURAGES all Member States of the AU that have not yet joined the APRM to accede to the APRM in line with the First Ten-Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 so as to attain universality by 2023;
TAKES NOTE WITH SATISFACTION of the full implementation of the Five- Year Strategic Plan of the APRM 2016-2020, and COMMENDS the APRM for realising all its key priority areas;
ENDORSES the Five Year Strategic Plan of the APRM 2020-2024 and COMMITS to support the APRM to ensure its full implementation;
ENCOURAGES the APRM to take the necessary measures to realise the key priority areas of the Five Year Strategic Plan of the APRM 2020-2024;
REITERATES that the APRM remains the premier homegrown, African good governance tool conceived in 2003, and voluntarily acceded to by forty (40) Member States representing more than two-thirds of the AU Member States;
WELCOMES WITH APPRECIATION the appointment by the 29th APR Forum of new APR Panel Members, Dr. Honore Mobanda from the Republic of Congo, Dr. Ousmane M. Diallo from the Republic of Mali, Dr. Hope Kivengere from the Republic of Uganda, Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika from the Republic of Zambia;
EXPRESSES APPRECIATION to the retiring APR Panel Members, Hon. Brigitte Sylvia Mabandla from South Africa and Prof. Abu Manga from Sudan, for their unwavering commitment to the realization of the mandate of the APRM;
WELCOMES WITH APPRECIATION the appointment by the 29th APR Forum of Prof. Fatma Zohra Karadja as the Chairperson of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons and Ambassador Ombeni Yohana Sefue as the Vice- Chairperson of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons for a period of one (1) year;
TAKES NOTE WITH SATISFACTION of the adoption by the 29th APR Forum of the APRM National Governance Reporting Framework which will guide the production of national governance reports pursuant to Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.720(XXXII) in which the Assembly urged Member States to develop national governance reports as a self-assessment tool, for promoting good governance, in line with the recommendations of the Africa Governance Report and the APRM Secretariat to provide technical support to Member States in developing country self-assessment reports (CSAR) on governance;
ENDORSES the Decision of the 29th APR Forum which declared the founding day of the APRM, 9 March as the APRM day which should be celebrated by the continent and the AU family;
TAKES NOTE that improved governance is a key prerequisite for creating conducive condition for Africa’s development, and REQUESTS the APRM to celebrate the 17th Anniversary of the founding of the APRM, on 9 March 2020, under the AU Theme of the Year 2020: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development;
RECALLS Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.720(XXXII) in which the Assembly decided that the Africa Governance Report shall be developed by APRM, in collaboration with AGA, and shall be presented every two (2) years for consideration by the Assembly at its Ordinary Sessions;
DECIDES that the APRM should develop, in collaboration with AGA, the African Governance Report and present it to the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly, scheduled to take place in February 2021;
EXPRESSES GRATITUDE to the APR Forum and all structures of the APRM and the AU for working tirelessly in ensuring that the APRM realises its mandate.