Today, 15 March 2018, the African Peer Review Mechanism(APRMorg) launches its 15th anniversary in Kigali Rwanda. The anniversary was marked under the theme ‘A step closer Towards Universal Accession’ and will be a time to reflect on the achievements as well as the future of the Mechanism.
In her opening remarks Minister Mushikiwabo highlighted how it has been vital for Rwanda to be in part of APRM since its foundation in 2003, as it is written on the Twitter handle of Rwanda Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She said: “We understood the importance of APRM as an African owned and self-monitoring mechanism, providing a platform for peer-learning and self-assessment among member states that had acceded the peer review mechanism.”
She also added: “In the case of Rwanda, we acceded to principles of the APRM in 2003. We were among the first 4 countries alongside Kenya, Ghana & Mauritius to undergo peer review and achieve the Country Review Report.”
Minister Mushikiwabo recommended that good governance is truly a central factor for sustainable development and implementing its principles and she revealed that is not simply about designing good institutional and policy reforms for our systems, but more importantly about the capacity to assess and evaluate our performance for continuous improvement.
She also emphasized the need to revitalize the APRM and extend its mandate as envisioned by the AU Summit. Addressing the people in attendance she added “APRM should re-focus and widen its approach from the current narrow minded approach to capture local, home-grown and indigenous knowledge embedded in the African culture.”
APR, a Specialized Agency of the African Union, is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by AU member States as an African self-monitoring mechanism, with the objective of improving governance dynamics at the local, national and continental levels.
To date, APRM Mechanism has managed to mobilize 37 (AU) member states and has acceded to this voluntary mechanism since its establishment. Moreover, twenty (20) member countries have completed their peer review process and are currently implementing their respective National Program of Action (NPAs).
The Express News
