Author: Adejoke Babington-Ashaye

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

March 2013 marked ten years of one of the most innovative initiatives established under the auspices of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Created in 2003, the main objective of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is to foster the adoption of standard practices for political stability, sustainable development and economic integration between member states. Members pledge to adhere to the basic principles of governance enshrined in the 2002 African Union Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance. As a voluntary process open to all members of the African Union, the steps of the APRM process include a country self-assessment, a review mission by the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons, a peer review of the ensuing Panel report by APRM member states, and a finalized programme of action (NPoA) for the country under review to implement. These NPoAs are critical to identifying development challenges within the member state under review, and laying the foundation for legal and policy changes. As of May 2013, the APRM has thirty-three member states, more than half the membership of the African Union (AU). However, over the decade the process has been plagued by financial and logistical challenges, stalled peer reviews, lack of political will and negative public perception. Despite criticisms regarding the ineffectiveness of the APRM as a tool for development and the promotion of human rights in Africa, this paper offers a different approach to assessing the APRM. It sheds light on some of the positive contributions the mechanism has made to development in Africa, and outlines the path for the next ten years.